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CQEffilGHT DEPOSm 



A SUMMER 

IN 

NORTHERN LANDS 




Our Captain 



A SUMMER 

IN 

NORTHERN LANDS 



THE JOURNAL OF A 
TRIP TO SCANDINAVIA 

By 

CHARLES WILLIAM HAMILTON 



Illustrated 

WITH PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN BY 
RAPHAEL and MARIAN HAMILTON 




DAVID D. NICKERSON & CO. 

BOSTON 






COP V RIGHT 1922 BY 

CHARLES W. HAMILTON 

AM, RIGHTS RESERVKiy 



m 20 1922 

CIA654693 




Trondhjem Cathedral 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Our Captain 


Frontispiece. 


Trondhjem Cathedral 


back of title 


Farewell to New York 


Facing Page 2 


Off the Shetland Islands 


4 


Bergen 


6 


S. S. "Kristianiafjord" at Stavanger 8 


Stavanger 


10 


Stavanger Cathedral 


12 


A Norwegian Lighthouse 


14 


Christiansand 


16 


Saetersdal Peasants 


18 


A Song of Welcome 


20 


Fortress of Akershus 


22 


Karl- JoH a Ns- Gade 


24 


The Captain's Boat 


26 


Christiana Fjord 


28 


Lake Mjosen 


30 


Ruins of Hamar Cathedral 


32 


At Stueflaaten 


34 


The Romsdalshorn 


36 


Aandalsnaes 


38 


Passing Munkholm 


40 


St. Olaf's Shrine 


42 


The Hullet 


44 


Svartisen 


46 


Svolvaer 


48 


Raftsund 


50 


Troldfjord 


52 


Lapp in Reindeer Sled 


54 


North Cape 


56 


Family of Lapps 


58 


In Vardo Harbor 


60 



Boris-Gleb Facing Page 62 

Landing at Hammerfest 64 

Bridge of S. S. Haakon Jarl 66 

torghatten 68 

S. S. Haakon Jarl 70 

Trondhjem's Wharves 72 

Christianssund Harbor 74 

MOLDE 76 

SOHOLT 78 

Geiranger Fjord 80 

Marok 82 

On the Road to Grotlid 84 

A Reindeer Herd 86 

Langevand 88 

Sandene 90 

Very Popular 92 

Statue of Frithjof 94 

BoRGUND Stavekirke 96 

Gudvangen 98 

View from Stalheim 100 

A Stolkjaerre 102 

Vossevangen 104 

Hay Cart 106 

Skjervefos 108 

Aabo-Elv, Odda 110 

Hardanger Girls 112 

Northern Museum, Stockholm 114 

View of Stockholm 116 

Upsala Cathedral 118 

Royal Palace, Stockholm 120 

The Walls of Wisby 122 

WisBY from the Sea 124 

Fishing Station 126 

Stor-Torg, Kalmar 128 

Castle of Kalmar 130 

Royal Palace, Copenhagan 132 

Danish Soldiers 134 



Castle of Kronborg Facing Page 136 

Danish Farm 138 

A Herring Boat 140 

Kiel 142 

HoLSTEiN Farm 144 

LuBECK Cathedral 146 

Hamburg 148 

Hanover 150 

Royal Palace, Hanover 152 

HiLDESHEIM 154 

The 1000 Year Rose-Tree 156 

Cathedral, Brunswick 158 

Frederick Museum, Berlin 160 

ZwiNGER, Dresden 162 

River Elbe, Dresden 164 

Teynkirche, Prague 166 

Charles Bridge, Prague 168 

The Hradcany, Prague 170 

Arctic Farj^s 172 

Elvesaes 174 

An Arctic Harbor 176 

In Munich 178 

Strassburg 180 

Arc de Triomphe, Paris 182 

At the Arctic Circle 184 

Boat Drill 186 



t>REFACE. 

As an inducement for others to "go and do 
likewise," I have allowed this journal to be 
published. There is nothing new or original 
in it. It merely serves as an accompaniment 
to some excellent photographs, and recalls a 
very happy summer spent in the places de- 
scribed. As it was written on the spot, most 
of the descriptions and facts stated are as 
accurate as an observer, without books of 
reference, can make them; however, if per- 
chance, misstatements have crept in, they are 
entirely unintentional on the part of the 

Author. 




Farewell to New York 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

Sunday, June 22. 
Although the weather had been extremely 
hot for a week past, it began to rain soon 
after the train pulled out of Omaha and the 
storm kept with us for twenty-four hours 
until we were well into the State of Ohio. 
That made tolerable what would otherwise 
have been a hot and dusty journey. On 
reaching New York City this afternoon, we 
took taxi-cabs and came to the Seville Hotel, 
where we now are located in pleasant rooms 
away up on the 'steenth floor, where there is 
an extensive view and plenty of air; and as 
each apartment has a bath-room connected, 
you can easily imagine how we have spent the 
time since our arrival. 

Monday, June 23. 

This morning I took a walk up Fifth 
Avenue to see what changes have taken place 
since my last visit to New York. When the 
New Library Building was reached, never 
having been inside, I entered to investigate. 
On the top floor there is quite a collection of 
paintings in several large galleries. Some of 
the pictures are good, but most belong to the 
**has been famous school." On the first 



4 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

floor there is a room that contains a number 
of portraits of North American Indians, but, 
as there were none of my personal friends 
in the bunch, they did not interest me. I 
forgot to look for books, but suppose there 
are a few hidden away somewhere in the 
building. The earlier half of the afternoon 
was spent hunting for a laundry bag, which> 
when found, was of goodly size, somewhat 
after the style of a mail pouch, brass trimmed 
and with a padlock. Then, a search was 
made for a carrying case, that would fit 
Marian's Kodak. Never before had I real- 
ized that there were so many varieties of 
Kodaks. Half a dozen places where they had 
cases for sale were visited, but none from all 
the various stocks would fit that camera and, 
finally, a trip down to the Eastman Kodak 
Go's warehouse had to be made, to get what 
was wanted. It took so long that when I 
got back, my family accused me of going on 
a lark by myself. 

. :; Tuesday, June 24. 

At ten o'clock this morning we took an 
auto for the Forty-fifth Street dock in Brook- 
lyn, from which inconvenient point our 
steamer, the "Kristlaniafjord" sails. Passing 
down through the crowded streets of New 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 5 

York to the Battery, we boarded the Thirty- 
ninth Street Ferry, which landed us within 
sight of our steamer, but the auto had to go 
around several blocks of warehouses before 
we reached the pier, down which our chauf- 
feur raced his car, much to our alarm, until 
we came opposite the gangway that led to the 
steamer's deck. However, it was only after 
we had dismissed the auto that our troubles 
really began. Our hand luggage, which we 
had brought with us, was turned over to the 
stewards of the steamer and quickly dis- 
appeared; but before they would allow us to 
follow it aboard, our tickets had to be au- 
dited at a small office near the pier-head, 
where there was a dense crowd of people 
waiting. After passing through that ordeal, 
it was necessary to hunt up our trunks, which, 
although they had been checked through to 
the dock, labeled with our names and the 
numbers of our cabins, could not, it seemed, 
be put aboard until personally identified and 
turned over by us to the men that were to 
stow them in the cabin. This part of the 
business seemed to be rather poorly man- 
aged. When we finally got aboard, we found 
our staterooms very comfortable and in them 
were a number of letters and telegrams, with 
some flowers and a beautiful basket of fruit 



6 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

that dear friends had been thoughtful enough 
to send. Our boat is new and clean but rather 
small. As this is her first voyage, and as the 
Norwegians are very patriotic and take great 
pride in the establishing of a steamship line 
between their country and America, many 
visitors are aboard, who are rushing all over 
the ship and making it uncomfortable for the 
regular passengers. We were to sail at one 
o'clock, but did not get away until after three, 
consequently lunch was late, also, dinner. 
Here is hoping that after one or two voyages 
the novelty will wear off and things run more 
smoothly. Several tugs, excursion boats, and 
yachts accompanied us down the bay and we 
passengers derived considerable amusement 
from watching the lowering, by means of a 
rope, of some belated visitors, among them a 
rather stout woman, to the deck of a tug-boat 
that was called alongside. 

Wednesday, June 25. 

Today is bright and the sea smooth, conse- 
quently all the passengers are on deck. Most 
of them are Norwegians or of Norwegian 
descent, but there are a few Americans 
aboard. The dining saloon is supplied with a 
number of small tables, but all were taken by 
the time I got around, so we were placed at 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 7 

the Captain's table, which seats about a 
dozen persons. Shortly after lunch we en- 
countered a fleet of sailing vessels bound 
south, and while ahead watching them, I 
made the acquaintance of a Norwegian 
gentleman named Stephensen, Captain of the 
Port of Christiania. He is a very agreeable 
man and speaks English quite well. In the 
afternoon, while leaning over the rail, I saw 
a large shark swimming away from the ship. 
It looked like the big sand sharks my boys 
used to catch in Vineyard Sound near Horse- 
shoe Shoal. Towards evening there were 
some black clouds hovering about but, be- 
fore sunset they disappeared. One thing 
about this ship I do not like is the arrange- 
ment of the windows in the state rooms on 
the promenade deck. They are nice, big, 
square ones, but can't be opened. To be sure 
the ship has a very elaborate system of ventil- 
ation, by which the air is drawn through 
tanks where it may be either heated or 
cooled, and from which it is distributed by 
means of pipes to the state rooms, but there 
is nothing like an open window at sea in fine 
weather; and even on the lower decks they 
can keep open the port-holes most of the 
time. 



8 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

Thursday, June 26. 
The sea is a little rough this morning, 
so naturally Maud and Marian are not feel- 
ing their very best. About midday we passed 
a small steamer that was headed west. We 
are well supplied with sea-captains. Besides 
the one in command of the ship, there are 
six among the passengers and it is quite inter- 
esting to listen when they get to talking in 
the smoking room. Telling of *' Rolling 
Down to Rio" or about "The Good Ship, 
Mary Ann." However, Captain Doxrude, 
who could probably tell the best tale of any, 
seldom speaks. I understand he has crossed 
the Atlantic as a captain for nearly a quarter 
of a century and mostly in command of 
steamers of the Red Star Line. The meals 
served on this boat are wholesome if not 
elaborate. The Bill of Fare at dinner today 
was, 

Soup Parmantiere 

Consomme Paysanne 
Boiled Striped Bass Buttersauce 

Rissolles Lamb Saute Navarin 

Roast Turkey Sweet Corn 
Stewed Prunes Mixed Salad 

Vanilla Ice Cream 
Fruit Dessert Coffee 



I 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 9 

Which, with a bottle of Cantenac Brown, 
1904, at 3 krs., or Rudesheimer, at 5 krs., 
certainly should prevent starvation. As 
printed in the Norwegian language some of 
the dishes read, "Afkog Bass Smorsauce" 
and *'Stegt Kalkun Corn." 

Friday, June 27. 

The ocean has smoothed down a bit. In 
the morning we passed a west bound steamer 
of the Red Star Line. They say it was the 
"Gothland." Towards evening we were off 
the New Foundland Banks and it turned cold. 
About sunset we saw a schooner away off to 
the north and it certainly did look lonesome. 
Probably from now on we shall see but few 
ships until we are well across the Atlantic. 
Norway, the land of wonderful scenery, the 
home of the Vikings, the Lapps, and reindeer, 
is not a large country, for, while it is a thou- 
sand miles in length, it is quite narrow, aver- 
aging only one hundred and seventy miles in 
width, and with a total area, including 
Islands, of 124,130 square miles or a little 
more than Wisconsin and Minnesota com- 
bined. Of this total area seventy-five per 
cent Is unproductive, twenty-two per cent is 
covered by forests and but three per cent is 
under cultivation. The principal crops are 



10 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

oats, barley, rye, wheat, pulse, and potatoes. 
Norway imports far more agricultural prod- 
ucts than it exports, and for that reason our 
good ship carries six thousand tons of flour 
as part of her cargo. Sheep, cattle, horses, 
goats, reindeer, and swine are the domestic 
animals raised, and their value stands in the 
order named. The forest area is 26,320 
square miles, of which seventy per cent is 
pine, so, naturally, the timber trade is exten- 
sive. The coast line, exclusive of fjords and 
bays, is 3,018 miles, and most of it is marked 
by magnificent cliffs, whose steep sides seem 
to forbid entrance to the land they protect 
from all outlying forces. Numberless little 
islandsliealongthe shores, and into the main- 
land, like flooded valleys, extend the narrow 
fjords. With all this sea coast, naturally the 
fisheries are extensive, over 100,000 persons 
being employed. The chief varieties of fish 
taken are cod, herring, mackerel, salmon, 
sea-trout, and lobsters. The mining indus- 
tries, which might be expected to be extensive 
in so mountainous a country, are unimpor- 
tant, the chief minerals produced being sil- 
ver, copper, pyrites, apatite, and feldspar. 
Norway has only about twelve hundred 
miles of railroads and on account of the 
mountainous nature of the country the cost 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 11 

of construction is very high, but owing to 
the numerous fjords, by which boats can 
penetrate far into the country, this apparent 
lack of railroads is not such a disadvantage 
as it would be in most countries. I got most 
of these facts from a gazetteer I found in 
the smoking room. 

Saturday, June 28. 

Today the sea is smooth and most of the 
passengers are up on deck enjoying the beauti- 
ful weather. The commander of our ship. 
Captain Hiortdahl, is a fine looking, young 
Norwegian; tall, with light hair, blue eyes, 
and a strong, handsome face. I have been 
told he commanded a Japanese ship during 
the late Russian- Japanese War. Even so, he 
cannot now be past forty years of age. 

Sunday, June 29. 
We had a sacred concert this afternoon, 
given by a Choir from St. Olaf's College, 
Northfield, Minn. The members of the 
choir, nearly fifty in number and of whom 
two-thirds are young women, have contrib- 
uted fifty dollars apiece to a common fund 
and it is expected that the rest of the ex- 
penses will be paid from the proceeds of con- 
certs they will give while in Norway. Of 



12 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

course they travel as second cabin passengers, 
but there is a good deal of first class talent 
among them. 

Monday, June 30. 

There has been considerable fog today. 
During the evening there was an attempt 
to give a concert in the First Class Saloon. 
Several clever stunts were given by some of 
the gentlemen and then a celebrated Norwe- 
gian Prima-Donna from the "Land of Sky- 
blue Water" sang a couple of songs in a 
charming manner, but before the program 
was half completed the function was stopped, 
by order of the captain, as the music inter- 
fered with locating a fog-signal that could be 
heard somewhere ahead. Most of the pas- 
sengers adjourned to the deck and stood in 
silence, listening to the wailing signals from a 
steamer that passed us to port. Our wireless 
operator later told me it was the steamship 
"Hellig Olav" of the Scandinavian-Ameri- 
can Line that was passing. 

Tuesday, July i. 
Another fine day and as a result we are 
having the usual athletic sports that always 
serve for entertainment on one of the later 
days of a Trans-Atlantic voyage. Marian 
won first place in the hobbled-skirt race, and 




Stavanger Cathedral 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS .13 

a gentleman, Mr. Ericson of Chicago, who 
is quite a good talker, made a pretty speech 
and presented her with a bunch of roses as 
a reward for her success. This evening, while 
we were seated in the after shelter, a Norwe- 
gian gentleman told how the late election at 
Bergen was carried in favor of a kingdom. 
He said it was arranged that those in favor 
of a monarchical form of government were 
to vote, "Yes," while those in favor of a 
republic were to vote "No." The merchants 
of Bergen were in favor of a kingdom but the 
fishermen of the neighborhood, who were 
greatly in the majority, were for a republic. 
Now, in Norway at that time, electric signs 
were a novelty, so the monarchical party 
leaders, who were clever, quietly fixed up an 
immense electric sign on the mountain side 
back of Bergen that read "Yes," and then on 
the night before the election, turned on the 
"juice." Naturally, the poor, ignorant fisher- 
men, coming home in their boats after dark 
to vote on the all important question next 
day, beheld this mysterious, fiery wonder in 
the sky, and, believing it to be a divine com- 
mand, voted accordingly. 

Wednesday, July 2. 
Today we had the captain's dinner. It 



14 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

was a very elaborate meal, and, of course, 
everybody bought wine, but the captain did 
not appear at table. Later he told me that he 
was so tired from being up at night, on ac- 
count of fog, that he had overslept at dinner 
time. After the meal some of the passengers 
danced on the rear boat-deck and several of 
them were very good dancers indeed, doing 
all the latest fancy steps. 

Thursday, July 3. 

Just after breakfast we sighted one of the 
northernmost of the Shetland Islands. A 
high rocky piece of land with green fields 
sloping down to the sea on the east, but with 
its peaks shrouded in purple mist to the west 
and south. Possibly, if we had been nearer, 
we might have seen some of the ponies. Dur- 
ing the day we passed several large yawls, 
probably fishing boats; and late in the after- 
noon, a small Danish steamer that dipped 
her colors. About ten o'clock in the evening 
we nearly ran onto a rock. It was not much 
larger than a hay stack and we only missed it 
in the fog by a hundred yards. As we were 
going ahead very slowly, we had time to back 
before we reached others that suddenly ap- 
peared ahead. Then we came about, stopped, 
and kept whistling for a pilot. Finally, about 




^, 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 15 

midnight, we picked up one. He had been 
trying to reach us, in a small boat, for over 
two hours, and told us we were seven Norwe- 
gian miles north of the entrance to Bergen- 
f jord. Later we picked up the regular Ber- 
gen pilot, but before that, I had gone to 
sleep. 

Friday, July 4. 
This morning on awaking, we found our 
ship at anchor in the Puddef jord with Bergen 
close at hand. The sun was shining brightly 
and as a ferry boat was alongside to take 
passengers ashore after breakfast, I decided 
to take advantage of the opportunity. So, 
collecting my family and rushing them in to 
the meal, the next time the little boat came 
alongside we were ready to board her and 
half an hour later were at Thomas Cook & 
Son's Office, where we stopped just long 
enough to get some Norwegian money. Then 
we walked to the Telegraph office and cabled 
home, "Arrived safe and well." From the 
office we crossed to the "Fish Market," one 
of the sights of Bergen. On an open wharf 
are a number of tanks supplied with running 
sea-water, in which the fishermen and dealers 
keep their stock alive. It was quite amusing 
to watch an old woman come along with her 



16 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

basket on her arm, and point out a fish in the 
tank that she fancied. The dealer would 
scoop out the victim with a hand net and drop 
it flopping on the counter before her. She 
would carefully examine it and bargain with 
the man over the price, and if it was not fresh 
enough, or the price was considered too high, 
she would shake her head and it was tossed 
back into the tank. If on the other hand it 
was satisfactory, the man killed the fish by 
cutting it below the gills, and, after putting 
it in the woman's basket, would pocket the 
price with a bow and a grin of satisfaction. 
I noticed one old lady, who purchased three 
large fish for twenty-five ore, about seven 
cents. From the Fish Market we went to the 
Hanseatic Museum, an interesting relic of the 
time when Bergen was inhabited by the mer- 
chants of the Hanseatic League. It is an 
ancient, timber-built, ware-house, of several 
stories, the upper parts of which were used 
for a residence by the merchant and his ap- 
prentices. In the queer old rooms are shown 
the furniture and household articles they 
used, together with some of the scales, 
weights, and other equipments of the ware- 
house. After inspecting this relic of ancient 
times, we walked along the German Quay 
until we came to the Rosenkrants Tower, 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 17 

first built in the thirteenth century, extended 
by Rosenkrants in 1567 and restored in 1848. 
Probably owing to the thoroughness with 
which the work was done, it looks quite mod- 
ern. We ascended to the roof, from which 
we had a fine view of the town. Near by is 
the "Maria Kirke," erected in the twelfth 
century and enlarged a hundred years later. 
From 1408 to 1766 it was the church of the 
German Merchants. The nave is Romanesque 
but the choir is Gothic. The altar dates 
from pre-reformation times, but the pulpit 
is of the seventeenth century. Both are elab- 
orately decorated with wood carving. That 
on the altar-back is especially fine. In the 
center is the Virgin and Child, with, on the 
right, St. Olaf and St. Anthony; on the left, 
St. Catherine and St. Dorothy. In the wings, 
are the twelve Apostles. On the back of the 
wings are paintings of the Last Supper and a 
priest offering Mass. The carving on the 
pulpit is allegorical and, while well done, is 
rather heathenish in conception. At Maud's 
suggestion we crossed the town to St. John's 
Church to see Gronvold's famous painting, 
"Christ in the Desert," v/hich hangs behind 
the high-altar, but when we arrived at the 
church we found it tightly locked and we were 
unable to gain admission. Retracing our 



18 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

Steps, we paused to look at the Ole Bull 
statue that stands in the little park in front 
of the Hotel Norga, and then suddenly every 
member of the party became extremely hun- 
gry. I led the charge on the hotel, but the 
porter met us at the front door and told us 
dinner would not be served for two hours, 
so we made a flank movement around the 
corner to the Cafe Boulevard and took what 
we could get. 

Saturday, July 5. 

Got up late this morning, but had time to 
visit the Cathedral, the Museiun of Industrial 
Art, and the Picture Gallery before we sailed 
for Stavanger at two o'clock in the afternoon. 
Our ship followed the inside route going 
south and, as the day was fine, we enjoyed the 
trip immensely. The passage is between the 
mainland and the numerous rocky islands 
called the **Skjaergaard** and all the way in 
sheltered water. As the atmosphere was very 
clear we not only could see the islands and 
near by mainland, but also the far distant 
mountains of the interior with their vast snow 
fields. At Haugesund some of our Norwe- 
gian friends pointed out the Harald's Stotte, 
an obelisk of red granite fifty-six feet high, 
on a square pedestal, surrounded by twenty 




Ph 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 19 

Stones, nine feet high, that commemorates 
his conquest of the old Norse tribes. It was 
erected in 1872, on the thousandth anniver- 
sary of Harald's victory, by which he became 
sole sovereign and was released from a vow, 
taken ten years before, not to cut his hair 
until he should be king of all Norway. 

Towards the end of the eighth century the 
Norwegian Vikings began their predatory ex- 
peditions. At first they visited other coun- 
tries only for plunder, their own country 
being governed by numerous petty rulers until 
the close of the ninth century. Then the 
above mentioned "Harald Haarfager'* (Fair- 
haired) , succeeded in subduing all the jarls or 
earls and became master of Norway. Some 
of the chiefs were exiled and others fled from 
the country, rather than submit to any one 
man*s rule. Between 870 and 890 a number 
of them removed to Iceland, which had been 
discovered by the Norsemen some years be- 
fore and was uninhabited, save by a few set- 
tlers who had gone there from Ireland. To 
escape the taxation, which was necessary to 
support an organized government, many pea- 
sants and fishermen also emigrated to the 
Orkney, Shetland and Hebrides islands. 
While this process of consolidation was going 
on, some of the savage exiles descended upon 



20 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

the shores of France and founded the Duchy 
of Normandy. It was over a century later 
before Norway became firmly established as 
a kingdom ; for not only did the exiled chiefs 
and their descendants frequently return to 
vex the struggling monarchs, but the Danish 
Kings were prone to interfere in the internal 
affairs of Norway. After a century of civil 
strife, Olaf the Saint became king and intro- 
duced the Christian religion. Canute the 
Great in 1028 drove Olaf from the kingdom, 
but after the death of Canute, Norway was 
ruled by its own kings until 13 19, when King 
Haakon died. His only child, a daughter, 
married the King of Sweden and the two 
countries were united for a time. Magnus, 
the son of this Norwegian princess, lost Swe- 
den but retained Norway, and his son, Haa- 
kon, in 1363 married Margaret, the heiress 
to the Danish throne; thus Denmark and 
Norway were united until 18 14, when the 
union of Norway and Sweden occurred. The 
subsequent history of Norway is identified 
with that of Sweden until 1905. Discontent, 
caused by lack of a separate consular service, 
culminated that year in an agreement for the 
repeal of the union. Prince Karl, second son 
of Frederick VII, of Denmark, was formerly 
elected King of Norway and in 1906, as King 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 21 

Haakon VII, was crowned at Trondhjem. So 
ends our lesson in history. After passing 
Haugesund the channel becomes very narrow, 
not over one hundred yards wide, but the 
captain told me it was over three hundred 
fathoms deep, or to make a comparison, three 
ship like ours standing end wise, one above 
the other, would not reach the surface of the 
water. About nine o'clock in the evening, 
we arrived at Stavanger, where thousands of 
people waited to welcome our ship, which ran 
up alongside the stone quay, just as easily as 
though it had been a tug-boat. The sun was 
setting and the water front was black with 
the crowd, but either because it was Sunday 
eve, or owing to the fact that the Norwe- 
gians are undemonstrative, they were very 
quiet and orderly. 

Sunday, July 6. 
Stavanger is one of the oldest towns in 
Norway, but it has suffered so frequently 
from fire that most of the houses are mod- 
ern. The Cathedral, a fine old temple, was 
founded by the English Bishop Reinald to- 
wards the end of the eleventh century and is 
dedicated to an Englishman, St. Swithin 
(Suetonius, bishop of Winchester, died, 
862). The interior seemed rather dark and 



22 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

somber, but the exterior, especially the choir, 
is quite handsome. Back of the church is a 
pretty little lake, that seems to be a popular 
resort for wild fowls, which speaks well for 
the humane training of the lads of Stavanger. 
We have had a fine chance to see the town, as 
our ship was detained all day unloading 
"oleo" and flour. The principal industry of 
this place seems to be the canning of fish, and 
from here come the various delicacies of 
which the herring forms a principal part. 
Smoked herrings, pickled herrings, and little 
herrings masqueraded as all sorts of sardines 
and anchovies. Shortly after supper we 
sailed out of the harbor and soon were pass- 
ing the low, sandy coast of Jaederen, a danger- 
ous neighborhood for ships, as the numerous 
light houses attest. At one time, three were 
in sight, but at this season of the year there 
are no lamps burning, for it is light enough 
to see at midnight, and a friend tells me that 
the light house keepers have all gone on their 
annual vacations. 

Monday, July 7. 
When we went on deck this morning we 
found we were in the beautiful harbor of 
Christiansand, which, evidently, is not so 
deep as that of Stavanger, for our ship had 
to anchor quite a way from the town and un- 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 23 

load her freight onto lighters. The harbor, 
however, seems to be well sheltered from the 
weather and is amply defended by forts. As 
soon as possible after breakfast we went 
ashore in a motor boat. There was not much 
to see in the town, but we were interested in 
watching the peasants from the Saetersdal, a 
number of whom were walking about the 
streets. The men wore leather trousers that 
came well up under their arm-pits, short em- 
broidered vests and, to top off, queer, little, 
black pill-box hats. But it was the women, 
as usual, who wore the most striking cos- 
tumes. The skirt, which was very short and 
full, was of black stuff, trimmed around the 
bottom with a wide band of red. At the 
place where their waists should be was a 
broad leather belt, and their ample lirabs 
were encased in thick woolen stockings, blue 
or black in color. Above the low cut waist 
of the dress, which has no sleeves, the upper 
part of the body is covered by a white, under 
garment with big puffed sleeves that are con- 
fined by tight fitting cuffs at the wrists. The 
Saetersdal people are a tall, strongly built 
race, and seem to cling to old time habits with 
great tenacity. During the afternoon we 
took an auto-ride to a park called, if I am not 
mistaken, the "Ravnefjeld." 



24 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

Tuesday, July 8. 

On our arrival at Christiania, Captain 
Stephensen met the steamer in his boat, came 
aboard and, from the bridge, superintended 
her docking, which was accomplished to the 
music of an ode of welcome, sung by a large 
choir. I can imagine that the Captain would 
have preferred to dispense with the music as 
it rather drowned his commands, but he said 
nothing against it. After the ship was fast 
to the quay, he came and assisted me to get 
our baggage passed through the Custom 
House and then took us in his boat to a land- 
ing near the Continental Hotel, where he 
helped us select rooms. For luncheon we 
had some delicious strawberries I I spent the 
afternoon at Bennett's making arrangements 
for our North Cape trip. They say It is get- 
ting late for going to the North Cape : cer- 
tainly accommodations on the steamers seem 
to be scarce and high priced. While walking 
on the Karl-Johans-Gade, I met the little 
Prima-Donna who came over on the steamer 
with us. She left the ship at Bergen, coming 
on by rail. I had hardly spoken half a dozen 
words to her while on ship-board, but when 
she saw me she hailed me like an old friend 
and we had quite a pleasant little chat. I was 



~^*^^"| \jLj'-^^^^^*tm I Ki^,. 





o 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 25 

glad to see her. She looked prettier than 
ever and seemed to be enjoying herself im- 
mensely. 

Wednesday, July 9. 

We can't get accommodations on the 
steamer "Sverre Sigurdsson," which sails 
from Trondhjem on next Monday for 
the North Cape, so I have had them 
wire to see what they can secure on the 
"Haakon Jarl," that sails a week later. 
Of course these are mail boats, not "Ex- 
cursion Steamers," but I think if we 
travel as the Norwegians do, we will, in that 
way, see more of the people and of their 
country. After we had sent the telegram, 
the boys and I went down to take a look at 
the "Haakon Jarl," which happens to be here 
on her way north. We found nothing fancy 
about her, but she looked sea-worthy and 
fairly clean. In the afternooni Captain 
Stephensen called and we went down to the 
Piperviken pier, where his boat was waiting. 
He took us on a trip around among the is- 
lands of the fjord, and afterwards he landed 
at the Royal Yacht Club, where he insisted 
on our partaking of a very nice luncheon, but, 
as it was past three o'clock, it rather spoiled 
our appetite for dinner. After the lunch we 



26 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

\^alked up to the Norsk Folkemuseum, an 
open air show, where he saw old houses from 
Sastersdal and Telemarken. In them were 
their original furnishings, among which were 
some quaint, old paintings of Biblical sub- 
jects, done by peasant artists. We also saw 
the Church of Gol, a "Staveklrke" or timber 
built church of the twelfth century, first men- 
tioned in 1309, brought here in 1884, and 
since freely restored. With its dragon-head, 
decorated gables and many pinnacles it looks 
almost as though it was of Chinese origin. 
There is also a church museum here that con- 
tains carved and painted altar-pieces, pulpits 
and organ-cases, mostly of the sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries. After kindly showing 
us all these things, the Captain took us back 
to the landing near our hotel. 

Thursday, July 10. 
It rained hard this morning, so we went to 
see the Viking's Ship. Under a temporary 
shed, in the grounds back of the University 
Buildings, is the one discovered in 1889 at 
Gogstad. It dates from the ninth century 
and was found in a large mound known as 
the Kongshaugen, where, according to tradi- 
tion, a king, with all his treasures, was buried. 
The custom of burying chiefs in a boat or 




EQ 



U 



I 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 27 

ship, which was sunk In the earth and covered 
by a mound, was common during Viking times 
in Norway. The smaller boats, which were 
most frequently used, have generally decayed 
so that only the rusted rivets are left as evi- 
dence of the size and form of the vessels. 
This ship, however, owing to the fact that 
It was imbedded in potter's clay, is better 
preserved than usual. Its length is seventy- 
seven feet, breadth, sixteen feet. It is sharp 
at both ends, rather long for its beam, and 
has a fine run. It is clinker-built, of oak, 
sixteen strakes high, riveted with wrought 
iron nails, and was propelled by both sails 
and oars, as is shown by the stub of a mast 
and some oars that were found in the ship. 
Back of the mast was a sepulchral chamber, 
made of blocks of timber, placed like a roof 
against a ridgeplate, the lower ends resting 
on beams placed alongside the bulwarks, 
which timbers were joined to others cross- 
wise, supporting the end-walls, made of 
planks. In this chamber, upon his couch, lay 
the skeleton of the dead chief, but his treas- 
ures had long since disappeared, for In the 
forgotten past the place had been plundered, 
as is shown by a yawning hole in the side of 
the ship, through which the robbers entered. 
Who the buried chieftain was, is unknown. 



28 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

but the Size of the mound and the grandeur (f 
of the burial prove him to have been a man 
of distinction. In another shed near by is a 
better preserved, but smaller, ship found at 
Oseberg. This, like the other, has been 
robbed of its treasures, but in and about it 
were found many objects of interest that are 
now on exhibition in the Historical Museum. 
Unlike the Gogstad ship, the Oseberg ship 
is not a sea going vessel but more of a plea- 
sure craft, the carved and painted barge of a 
princess, and as might be expected, the two 
skeletons found in it were both females, one, 
that of the rich, distinguished woman over 
whom the grave was raised, the other, prob- 
ably that of a maid-servant who had to ac- 
company her mistress in death. After in- 
specting the ship we went to the Museum to 
see the objects found with it. They were 
quite numerous, but the most interesting of 
all was an elaborately carved, four wheeled 
wagon, to which are harnessed the mounted 
skeletons of a pair of horses, or perhaps it 
would be more accurate to say ponies, whose 
bones were found in the mound near the ship. 
This pony phaeton of a thousand years ago 
would seem to indicate they had good roads 
even at that early day in Norway. 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 29 

Friday, July ii. 

Maud, Marian, and I visited some of the 
shops this morning. One of their specialties 
here is beautiful, enameled jewelry and 
silverware. We bought a few small pieces 
to give to friends at home. Then we went 
to the Art Gallery. It contains some very 
fine paintings by Norwegian artists, but noth- 
ing of importance by foreigners. In one 
room are a number of pictures by J. C. C. 
Dahl that are quite good. Edward Munch's 
works are very modern in style and rather 
disappointing. Hans Gude paints well and 
especially worthy of notice are his "Chris- 
tiania Fjord" and "Reindeer Hunter." Otto 
Sinding chose for his subjects the majestic 
scenery of the Lofoten Islands, and later on 
we hope to see if he is true to nature. This 
afternoon the boys and I went up to call on 
Captain Stephensen. Found him at home 
and after a short visit we all walked down 
through the Palace Grounds. There are 
beds of beautiful flowers in the grounds and 
during the summer, the public is allowed to 
enter freely, a privilege thoroughly enjoyed 
by the people. 

Our hotel is quite good, but lacks modern 
plumbing. Maud and Marian have a room 
that faces the Eidsvold-Plads and the Na- 



30 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

tional Theatre, and with a little practice they 
might toss a laurel wreath upon the heads of 
the colossal, bronze statues of Ibsen and 
Bjornson that stand below their balcony. The 
boys and I have rooms on the other side of 
the house, facing the "Tivoli," a very popular 
summer garden. This afternoon we went for 
another trip on the fjord. It was a pleasant 
day and we enjoyed the ride immensely. 
Afterwards, Captain Stephensen dined with 
us, and I hope he enjoyed the meal as much 
as we did. 

Sunday, July 13. 
Went to Mass at St. Olaf's Church this 
morning. The stained glass windows repre- 
sent some saints whose names I have never 
before heard. There was St. Eisfein, St. 
Sunniva, St. Haljardus, St. Thorfinus, and St. 
Olavus. The last, of course, is St. Olaf, 
King of Norway, but who were the other 
holy people? St. Sunniva is represented as 
a fair maiden with "a crown upon her fore- 
head," but lacking "a harp within her hands." 
Instead, she carries a bunch of lilies and 
wears a green mantle, all powdered with 
golden shamrocks. Was she the daughter 
of an Irish King? After lunch, we went up 
to HolmenkoUen (1400 ft.), from which 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 31 

point there is a fine view of the city of 
Christiania and of the fjord. While the rest 
of the family were partaking of light refresh- 
ments on the terrace in front of the restau- 
rant, I went on up to the Sanatorium in 
search of a man, who came over in the ship 
with us and that rumor says is sick and stop- 
ping at that place, but I did not find him 
there, nor at the neighboring Tourist Hotel. 
In front of the latter I saw a lofty "bautas- 
ten'* that commemorates a visit of Emperor 
William II., and King Oscar II., to the place 
on July 2, 1890, and yet we laugh at "John- 
nie Green" for scribbling his name on the 
face of the Town Hall clock. 

Monday, July 14. 
We left Christiania at eight o'clock this 
morning and an hour later were at Eidsvold, 
where we transfered to the steamboat that 
plys Lake Mjosen, "Norway's inland sea," 
which, the guide book tells us, "is sixty-two 
miles long, about nine miles across at its 
widest point and immensely deep" (1482 
ft.). It lies between fertile regions that are 
pleasing but rather tame. The first large 
town passed was Hamar, near which are the 
ruins of a cathedral that dates from 1152, 
when a bishopric was founded here by the 



32 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 



papal nuncio, Nicholas Breakspeare, an Eng- 
lishman, afterwards Pope Adrian IV. It 
was destroyed by the^Swedes in 1567, but the 
four remaining round arches of the nave, rest- 
ing on massive piers, are most picturesque. 
Passing Gjovik, a small town on the western 
shore of the lake, that is a railway terminus, 
we at last came to Lillehammer, at the upper 
end of "Norway's Inland sea." The ride on 
the boat was delightful, not the least attrac- 
tive part of it being the dinner aboard, at 
which we had some of the trout for which 
the lake is famous. It was very hot at Lille- 
hammer, so we did not go to see Per Gynt's 
Stue, which Is one of the sights of the place, 
instead we sat In the shade and stewed until 
the train came. We were hardly seated 
in the car before a very welcome shower 
began, rain, sunshine, and a rainbow all at 
the same time, that cooled the atmosphere 
most delightfully. Our route was up the 
Gudbrandsdal, named after Gudbrand, the 
heathen adversary of St. Olaf the King. The 
natives of this valley are said to be "high 
spirited, and prone to cling to old customs." 
They are chiefly occupied in breeding horses 
and cattle. The buckskin ponies, with a dark 
stripe down their back, that are raised in this 
neighborhood, are esteemed highly all over 




u 



Pi 



3 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 33 

Norway. After passing Tretten and Vin- 
stra, small places of no importance, we came 
to Otta, where, for the present, the railway- 
ends and where we are to pass the night. It 
was near this place on the 26th of August, 
16 1 2, that Colonel Ramsay and Captain 
Sinclair with nine hundred Scottish soldiers, 
who were trying to force their way through 
Norway to join the Swedes, then at war with 
Norway, were intercepted by Norwegian 
peasants and nearly all killed. The Nor- 
wegians still sing a song that commemorates 
the event. Having heard the song several 
times and being attracted by it, I asked what 
it was about and was given the following 
verses, which are said to be a translation: 

SINKLARVISEN. 

Across the sea came the Sinclair brave. 
To fight for the gold of Gustavus: 

God help thee, chief! from the Norway 
glaive, 
No other defender can save us. 



On Romsdal coast has he landed his host, 

And lifted the flag of ruin; 
Full fourteen hundred of mickle boast, 

All eager for Norway's undoing. 



34 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

They scathe, they ravage wherever they 
light, 

Or truth or justice unheeding; 
They spare not the old for his locks so white, 

Nor the widow for her pleading. 

They slew the babe on his mother's arm. 
As he smiled so sweet on his f oeman : 

But the cry of woe was the war alarm. 
And the shriek was the warrior's omen. 

And all of Lesso, and Vog, and Lom, 
With axes full sharp on their shoulders. 

To Bredeboyd in a swarm are gone. 
To fight with the Scottish soldiers. 

The first shot hit the fierce Sinclair right, ^^ 
He fell with a groan full grievous ; 

The Scotts beheld their bold leader's plight, 
Then cried they; *'Saint Andrew, receive 
usl" 

At the station we were met by the manager-' 
ess and porter of the Bjorkheim Hotel, whol 
politely escorted us to the house, where we 
were shown our rooms, which, although. 
small, were clean and comfortable. After! 
supper we took a walk up along the banks 
of the Otta, a broad, brawling stream that 
here empties into the Lougen from the west. 




At Stueflaaten 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 35 

Maud and Marian counted twenty-five vari- 
eties of flowers during our walk. Tomorrow 
we continue our journey to the Romsdal by 
automobile. 

Tuesday, July 15. 

Last night at ten o'clock, when I went to 
bed, it was still light enough to read a news- 
paper and this morning, when I awoke, it was 
broad daylight. On looking at my watch I 
found that it was just four o'clock. As the 
only sound to be heard was the gurgling of 
the river, I rolled over and went to sleep for 
a couple of hours. After an early breakfast 
we started on our trip to Aandalsnaes. Just 
out of town we passed the Daanofos, (Thun- 
derfall). Close by there is an extensive es- 
tablishment for the manufacturing of tomb- 
stones and the slate from which they are 
made is so plentiful that slabs of it are used 
to fence in the yard of a nearby church. Soon 
the river becomes a torrent and the valley, 
quite Alpine in appearance. Farms cease and 
only an occasional log hut, roofed with turf, 
is seen. On top of one, a woman was mowing 
the grass, but whether it was to improve 
the roof or for the sake of the hay, we could 
not find out. Near Lesjeverk there is a lake 
which is the source of the Lougen, that flows 



36 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

south-east Into the Skager-Rack, while from 
its northern end issues the Rauma, that enters 
the Molde Fjord and so the North Atlantic 
Ocean. We stopped at Stueflaaten for lunch. 
In the parlor of the hotel was one of those 
odd, corner fireplaces that seem to be pe- 
culiar to Norway. The chimney is built in the 
corner and the two sides that project into the 
room, are supported at the angle by a per- 
pendicular iron bar that rests on the built up 
hearth below. Except for the fact that it was 
whitewashed, it looked like an old time black- 
smith's forge, where I used to get my pony 
shod when I was a boy. Soon after leaving 
Stueflaaten we entered a more picturesque 
part of the Romsdal and at the same time 
it began to rain. It was too bad, for the 
scenery is really fine, with cliffs and waterfalls 
everywhere. Some of them seemed to be 
coming right out of the clouds and down on 
our heads ; in fact, it was hard to say whether 
it was spray from the falls or just plain rain 
that was soaking through our waterproofs. 
At Flatmark we stopped for a while to get 
out of the wet. While I stood on the hotel 
porch dripping, out came a jolly faced Eng- 
lishman, who was wondering if it was too wet 
to go fishing. He asked in what part of 
America I lived? And when I informed him. 



I 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 37 

he said he had been In Omaha in July, 1873, 
and had stopped at the Grand Central 
Hotel. When I told him I was living at that 
very same hotel at that time, he thought it 
"Jolly strange" and right away wanted me to 
stop over for a day at Flatmark, for, said he, 
"it's a very decent place, and I'll show you 
some good trout fishing," but I could not stop 
and so we parted. By the time we got to the 
narrowest and grandest part of the valley 
with the mountains towering above us, on 
the right the pointed Romsdalshorn and on 
the left the many pinnacled Troldtinder, the 
rain began to let up a bit, but we were wet 
and cold so I told our chauffeur to hurry on 
to our stopping place. 

Wednesday, July i6. 

Last night on arriving at the Grand Hotel, 
Aandalsnaes, finding it cold and cheerless, I 
thought it the most dismal place I had ever 
seen; but after supper the boys and I went 
into the smoking room, where there was a 
fire. Later, some Americans came in, among 
them Professor Naylor, whom I had met 
before, and soon we were chatting away 
quite gaily and we did not get to bed until 
near midnight. This morning, after a good 
night's rest, we all feel better, so we took 



38 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 



the boat to Molde. Shortly after leaving 
"Naes" we got a peep of the Romsdalshorn, 
called for short the "Hornet," but most of the 
mountains were hidden behind clouds. On 
the way down the Fjord we stopped at sev- 
eral small places and by the time we arrived 
at Molde the sun was shining, but clouds 
hung all day above the peaks on the opposite 
side of the Fjord. Molde is beautifully situ- 
ated on the green-clad hills at the foot of a 
mountain and overlooks a smiling bay dotted 
with many islands. We had dinner at the 
Hotel Alexandra and I must say it was very 
good for Norway, for while none need 
starve in this country, the fare is not always 
tempting. Up near the Grand Hotel, which 
is at the other end of the town from our 
stopping place, there is a beautiful garden 
full of fruits and flowers. Among the fruits 
I noticed currants, gooseberries, strawber- 
ries, pears, and apples, all fine, save the last. 
Among the flowers the roses were especially 
noticeable, as they were of many sorts and 
colors. At six o'clock in the evening we took 
an auto for Battenfjordsoren, where we 
caught the eight o'clock boat for Christians- 
sund, arriving there after ten o'clock, but it 
was still daylight and the streets were full 
of people. We found good rooms reserved 




Aandalsnaes 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 39 

for US at the Grand Hotel and, as the day 
had been tiresome, we did not spend much 
time in sightseeing but went to bed. 

Thursady, July 17. 
Left Christianssund in a small steam boat 
at eight o'clock this morning bound for 
Trondhjem. Christianssund is a very modern 
city in every sense of the word, and owes its 
prosperity to the fish trade. Our boat keeps 
to the inland passage, which is protected 
from the sea and rough weather by a belt of 
islands, so the trip is pleasant in more ways 
than one. All along the route are small 
settlements and from them men and boys 
put out in little boats to take freight 
and passengers. At some places the steamer 
would stop in the offing and a boat would 
come out with the mail and occasionally a 
passenger. Once it was a lone German with 
his pack on his back. At another place the 
boat came out empty but carried back a 
family of five, with all their bags and boxes. 
At some points, where the water was deep, 
we would run along side a wharf and unload 
a couple of barrels of flour or take aboard 
a pig or a cow. A little past noon we had 
dinner aboard, and it was a very good meal 
indeed. Along in the afternoon we came to 



40 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

the entrance of Trondhjem Fjord, which, by 
the way, is guarded by several forts, some of 
whose large guns were visible. The atmos- 
phere had a rosy tinge in it and down from 
the north came a fleet of boats rigged with 
big, square sails like the Viking ships of old. 
In fact they are their degenerated descend- 
ents, that bring down cargoes of fish and 
firewood from the Nordland. It recalled 
Longfellow's poem, 

KING OLAFS RETURN. 
And King Olaf heard the cry, 
Saw the red light in the sky. 
Laid his hand upon his sword. 
As he leaned upon the railing. 
And his ship went sailing, sailing 
Northward into Drontheim Fjord. 

Longfellow uses the German name of 
Trondhjem but it is doubtful whether it is an 
improvement on the Norwegian form. Near- 
ly a millenium has past since Olaf Tryggves- 
son, after years of Viking roving, returned 
from England to claim his crown and convert 
his countrymen to Christianity. He changed 
his residence from the old heathen centre of 
Lade to the little peninsula at the south of 
the River Nid, and there founded a city 




(X, 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 41 

called Nidaros, now Trondhjem. As soon as 
our boat made fast to the pier we landed and, 
after turning our baggage over to the porter, 
walked up to the Britannia Hotel. 

Friday, July i8. 

Although Olaf Tryggvesson is one of the 
grandest figures in Norwegian history, "the 
wildly beautifullest man," as Carlyle says of 
him, "in body and in soul, that one has ever 
heard of in the north," his efforts at Chris- 
tianizing his fellow countrymen were not 
wholly successful. It was left for another 
Olaf to accomplish that and make Trond- 
hjem famous, Olaf Haraldsson, the "Thick- 
set," afterwards Olaf, the Saint, the St. 
Olave, from whom so many churches in Eng- 
land get their names. This king was a zeal- 
ous Christian and went about his dominion 
inculcating his doctrines with the sword, and, 
as a result he perished by the sword. He 
fell in battle with his rebellious subjects at 
Stiklestad, July 29, 1030. When all was 
over, some of his faithful followers secretly 
carried his body to Trondhjem and hurriedly 
buried him in a sand heap on the spot where 
the Cathedral now stands. The dead man 
was more powerful than the living one. Re- 
ports begin to be circulated of wonderful 



42 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

things that happened to those who touched 
the body of the dead king. The lame 
walked and the blind could seel A "fair" 
well had gushed forth beside his grave, by 
means of whose waters many were cured of 
their ills. The feelings of the people 
changed, the tyrant had become a saint. His 
body was exhumed, found undecayed, with a 
life-like expression on the face, and with 
every sign of being miraculously preserved. 
When his son, Magnus the Good, was elected 
king, in pious reverence for his father's 
memory, he built a church and placed the 
body in a silver reliquary on its altar, and 
ever since there has been a church there, al- 
though the silver reliquary has long ago 
disappeared. The present Cathedral is built 
of greenish soapstone, relieved by slender 
shafts of light colored marble, somewhat 
after the style of Salisbury Cathedral in Eng- 
land. The most remarkable part of the 
church is the "High Choir," a large, apsidal 
erection to the east of the chancel, somewhat 
after the style of Becket's Crown at Canter- 
bury. In it, where now stands the com- 
munion table, formerly stood the silver 
shrine of St. Olaf, that at the time of the 
Reformation was taken to Copenhagen. 
Around this space was erected a stone screen 




St. Olaf's Shrine 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 43 

between the octagonally arranged pillars that 
support the superstructure, save in front. 
Back of this screen is a beautifully vaulted 
passage, with three small chapels, and in a 
small recess in one of the buttresses to the 
right is the famous well, but it is guarded 
from the inquisitive by an iron gate. The 
arch connecting this choir with the chancel is 
one of the characteristic beauties of the 
Cathedral, but whether it was originally 
adorned with statuary, after the style of a 
rood screen, is to be questioned. The Chan- 
cel is said to stand on the foundation of Olaf 
Kyrre's church, a stone edifice built in 1066 
to replace the one, probably of wood, built 
by Magnus. The transepts, which are with- 
out aisles, are Anglo-Norman in style and of 
earlier date than the choir, but the tower 
is Gothic and very beautiful. The nave was 
the most modern part of the Cathedral, 
dating from 1248. It was also the most 
magnificent part of the building, but it has 
been a ruin for over three hundred years: 
however, it is now being restored. 

Saturday, July 19. 
This morning we went aboard the "Haa- 
kon Jarl" for our trip north. As we steamed 
out of the harbor we passed quite near 



44 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

Munkholm, the island of the Monks. In 

olden days, before the year looo, it was 

used as a place of execution. Olaf Tryg- 

gvesson hung up the heads of Haakon Jarl 

and his faithless thrall Karker on a gibbet 

there. 

"At Nidarholm the priests are all singing, 

Two ghastly heads on the gibbet are swing- 
ing, 

One is Jarl Haakon's and one is his thrall's. 

And the people are shouting from windows 
and walls, 

While alone in her chamber 

Swoons Thora, the fairest of women." 
Thus Longfellow describes the victory of 
Olaf in 995, but at the time the island was 
uninhabited, so the "singing priests" is a 
poetic license. It was Canute of Denmark 
and England who founded the Benedictine 
cloister there in 1028 and the first monks 
were Englishmen. In the round tower of 
the fortress on the island, which was erected 
in 1658, the Danish statesman Count Grif- 
fenfeldt was confined for twenty-one years 
during the reign of Christian V. 

Sunday, July 20. 
When I went on deck this morning the 
captain told me to awaken the family as 




The Hullet 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 45 

we would soon be at the famous island of 
Torghatten, so named because it looks like 
a big hat floating on the sea. We landed 
on the east side of the island and scrambled 
up a rough path to the **Hullett" (hole), a 
huge, natural tunnel through the mountain, 
over four hundred feet above the beach, but 
which was evidently excavated by the sea 
before it was above the surface of the waves. 
The height of the opening at the eastern 
end is about sixty-five feet, at the western 
end two hundred and forty-six feet. Total 
length five hundred and thirty-five feet; 
breadth thirty-five to fifty-six feet. The view 
of the sea below, as seen through this gigan- 
tic telescope, is very striking. No wonder 
the Vikings of old, sailing by and looking up 
through it to the sky beyond, said it was 
the "Gate" through which the Valkyries 
dragged up the heroes to Valhalla. 

The Northland is a land of romance. The 
fishermen, sailing along the coast in storm 
and mist, hearing the screams of sea-birds, 
the shriek of the wind, and the roar of the 
waves, could easily fancy the powers of 
death were in pursuit. The "draug" in his 
half-boat was beside them; they could hear 
his mocking laugh when their barque cap- 



46 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

sized and the crew with benumbed hands 
clung to the upturned keel. 

In the light summer nights the shapes of 
the mountains and islands of the coast are 
softened and subdued by the mysterious twi- 
light. The imaginative peasants see in seven 
mountains in a row seven sisters turned to 
stone. An island with a fantastically shaped 
peak on it becomes a horseman with his 
cloak fluttering in the wind, galloping south- 
ward in his passionate ardor to carry off the 
maids of Lekon. Then there are real his- 
torical places. Another island we passed this 
afternoon was Thjoto, once the home of 
Haarek of Thjoto, a well known character 
in old Norse history. It lies near the mouth 
of the beautiful Vefsenfjord, which we as- 
cended to deliver freight and land passen- 
gers at Mosjoen, a place where there are 
large saw mills. 

Monday, July 21. 
We found ourselves, this morning near 
the head of the well-timbered Ranenfjord, 
at a town with the abbreviated name of 
Mo, which in the Norwegian language 
means a sandy plain. It is quite a busy lit- 
tle place; is a shipping point for iron-ore 
brought from the interior, and, in addition, 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 47 

has a large boat-building yard, where from 
six to eight hundred "Ranenbaads" are 
turned out annually. These boats, which 
with their high bows and sterns recall the 
shape of the Venetian gondolas, are consid- 
ered typical national crafts. They are used 
mostly for fishing, but when occasion de- 
mands, if not too dingy, make very pictur- 
esque pleasure crafts with their gaily 
painted sides of green and red. After un- 
loading some flour and taking aboard a 
couple of "Ranenbaads," which were to be 
delivered further up the coast, we steamed 
down to the mouth of the fjord, and re- 
sumed our journey northward. 

About three oVlock in the afternoon we 
passed Hestmando, but did not get a sight 
of the famous horseman, as it was foggy. 
Near here we crossed the Arctic Circle and 
entered the polar zone. Along towards six 
in the evening we steamed into Holands- 
fjord and ran up close to the Svartisen. 
Why it is called black ice I cannot imagine, 
for it is as white as any other glacier. At 
the head of this narrow fjord, which in some 
places Is not over three hundred yards wide 
and has very high, rocky sides, we found a 
large excursion steamer, the Thalia, at an- 
chor. Running alongside of her we dropped 



48 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

our anchor just as supper was announced. 
After supper we landed In the small boats, 
and walked along a rocky path to the foot 
of the glacier, which, if I am not mistaken, 
is called the Fondalsbrae, and is only one of 
seven arms that come down from the Svar- 
tisen, a vast snow field forty miles long and 
half as broad. It was fine to see the great 
blue cracks in the white sea of ice and at one 
place there was a huge arch from under 
whose blue depths rushed a foaming river. 
Quite a number of people from the tourist 
steamer were scrambling up over the glacier. 
They were a well-behaved crowd, very polite, 
if one might judge from the frequency with 
which we heard *'merci" and "pardon," but 
their fine clothes and high-heeled shoes were 
better suited for Paris boulevards than for 
Arctic ice. A couple of natives had stretched 
a rope up over the glacier, for the use of 
which and a pair of ice irons to strap on your 
shoes they charged half a krone. Raphael 
tried the experiment of going up over the 
ice to the first large crevasse, but, as the 
strap to one of his irons broke and he had 
no alpenstock to hold him up in his descent, 
he came down very gracefully on all fours. 
The rest of the family were satisfied by 
merely stepping on the ice and back again 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 49 

to terra-firma. But, after all, the view of 
the glacier as seen from the ship, was the 
grandest sight of the kind that I have ever 
witnessed. It was not alone the magnificent 
river of ice that impressed one, but the vast 
field beyond, showing above the clouds, with 
the sunlight shining upon it, and away above 
all, a white, glittering dome, which we 
watched from below in the twilight. 

Tuesday, July 22. 

On awaking this morning we found our- 
selves at Bodo, quite a town for the Arctic 
Zone. It has over forty-seven hundred in- 
habitants, good stores, a nice-looking hotel, 
a large church, and several fine buildings. 
The quays are of stone and a massive sea- 
wall protects the harbor. The midnight 
sun is seen here from May thirtieth till 
July twelfth, and for the corresponding 
period in winter they have no sun at all, but 
at that time they use electricity to light the 
streets. Luckily electricity is cheap here, 
owing to the abundance of water power. At 
this season of the year it is hard to realize 
that we are in 67° 17' north latitude. Dur- 
ing the afternoon we crossed the Vestfjord 
to the Lofoten Islands, a chain of half sub- 
merged, rocky peaks that, beginning in up- 



50 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

per Norway, extend two hundred kilometers 
southwest, out into the north Atlantic Ocean. 
The first place we touched at was Reine, a 
poor, little settlement in a most desolate 
region: nothing but rocks, that rise like 
saw-teeth from the stormy sea and are 
naked, save for a few patches of greenish- 
brown moss. I say naked, but that means 
of soil or verdure, for even this late in the 
summer the north flank of each mountain, 
where it is not too steep, is covered with 
snow and ice. As the evening was cold and 
disagreeable, I went to bed. 

Wednesday, July 23. 
It IS bright and sunny this morning, so I 
feel better. As soon as we made fast to 
the wharf at Svolvaer I took a short walk 
about the town. There are some quite nice 
houses here and even several gardens with 
shrubs and a few small trees in them, but I 
do not think it will ever amount to much as 
a place to raise fruit or even as a popular 
summer resort. These islands owe their 
prosperity, I might almost say their habita- 
bility, to the fisheries, which are mentioned 
by writers as early as nine hundred years 
ago. The fishing is carried on from mid- 
January till April in the Vestf jord, to which 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 51 

the cod, from the depths of the Atlantic, 
come to spawn. So dense are the schools, 
as they move in serried ranks one hundred 
feet or more below the surface of the water, 
that the lead, when thrown, actually rests 
on the bodies of the fishes and does not sink 
to the bottom. In good years as high as 
forty-six millions of fish are caught that are 
worth over eight million krones. Towards 
the middle of the afternoon we entered the 
Raftsund, the grandest of the Lofoten 
straits, flanked with huge mountains, that 
are furrowed by deep ravines. After pro- 
ceeding up this magnificent water-way for a 
few miles we turned into the Troldfjord, a 
narrow bay enclosed by abrupt rocks that 
rise to a stupendous height. It ends beneath 
several snow-filled gorges and there was 
barely room for our steamer to turn about. 
Our old captain, with evident pride, told 
me there was "only one Troldfjord in Nor- 
way and nothing like it in the world," and 
I believe he is quite right. 

Thursday, July 24. 
Today we have been passing through some 
fine arctic scenery, up a broad waterway be- 
tween snow-capped mountains. It seems to 
be a thoroughfare of commerce and we have 



52 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

passed a number of large freight steamers 
from Russia, piled high with deck loads of 
timber. The trees are cut in the far interior 
and floated down the rivers that empty into 
the White Sea. These steamers mostly load 
at Archangel and carry their freight to 
England and Germany. Even this far north 
there are farms. At one place they were 
quite large, say forty acres each, and while 
the houses are small they look comfortable. 
The crops seemed to be rye and potatoes. 
The grain is cut green and hung upon frames 
or stakes to ripen. A gentleman aboard said 
that rye and oats when mixed seemed to give 
a better crop than when either was planted 
alone. He also told me that each of these 
farmers had from twenty to forty cows, but 
that at this time of the year they were up 
at the saters in the mountains; that there 
the grass was good now and that the women 
in charge milked the cows and made cheese 
and butter for winter use. He also said the 
potatoes were small, as they cut the tops for 
fodder. 

Friday, July 25. 
We stopped at Tromso early this morn- 
ing, but I was not up in time to see the place. 
Later on we saw some grand scenery as the 



1 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 53 

Steamer passed the entrance to Lyngenf jord. 
We are now in Lapland. Finmarken, as it 
is called by the Norwegians, takes its name 
from the Finns, or, as they are now generally 
called, the Lapps. They are the extreme 
northwest branch of the Mongolian race 
and have lived here from time immemorial. 
Today, these skin-clad nomads lead their 
wandering lives just as their ancestors did in 
prehistoric times. During the night of win- 
ter, when the Northern lights flicker and 
flash in green and yellow and red, the 
"Mountain Lapp" on his **ski" speeds across 
the snow sheet that covers the plateau; or, 
hitching the fleet footed reindeer to the 
low, little *'pulk," in which he sits warmly 
wrapped in furs, goes flying over the snow- 
clad hills behind his antler-crowned steed. 
He lives with and on the reindeer. He tends 
the large herds of tame deer with the aid of 
his small dogs, that are always his faithful, 
clever companions and in return the herd 
gives him food, clothing and all else he 
needs. Down on the coast, however, the 
Lapp is stationary, and lives in a little, dark, 
one room, sod hut called a "gammer," and 
makes his precarious living by fishing or 
working for the Norwegians. After dinner 
we arrived at Hammerfest, often called the 



54 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

"most northern town in the world.'' 
Although our steamer was made fast bow 
on, by a line to the dock, we had to land by 
means of small boats. The town is not much 
of a place but is resorted to by ships of all 
nations. We saw many Lapps and Russians 
on the streets. The Lapps wear blue cloth 
blouses trimmed with red and a queer cap 
with a square crown of the same colors. 
This, of course, is their summer costume, for 
in winter, according to all accounts, they 
dress in skins. They are a dirty looking lot, 
but seem almost immaculate when compared 
with the Russian sailors. Up on the hill 
back of the town there is a cafe, whence can 
be obtained a fine view of the harbor. Notic- 
ing a monument over on the right side of the 
harbor, after descending the hill, we walked 
around to see what it represented. We 
found that it was a small granite column sur- 
mounted by a bronze globe and on the base 
was an inscription stating that it "marked the 
northern end of a meridian measured by 
Norwegian, Swedish, Russian and Austrian 
scientists in 1816-52.** 




Pi 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 55 

Saturday, July 26. 

THE DISCOVERER OF THE NORTH 

CAPE. 
"The days grew longer and longer, 
Till they became as one, 
And northward through the haze 
I saw the sullen blaze 

Of the red midnight sun. 

"And then uprose, before me, 
Upon the waters edge 
The huge and haggard shape 
Of that unknown North Cape, 
Whose form is like a wedge. 

"The sea was rough and stormy, 
The tempest howled and wailed, 

And the sea-fog, like a ghost. 

Haunted that dreary coast. 
But onward still I sailed. 

"Four days I steered to eastward 
Four days without a night : 

Round in a fiery ring 

Went the great sun, O King, 
With red and lurid light." 

We came up on the east side of the North 
Cape, for it is on an island and you can sail 
around it, but we could not land on account 



56 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

of the sea being so rough. First the Cap- 
tain said It was too windy to land, then he 
changed his mind, said he would try, and 
ran up to within a mile of the cape. Fi- 
nally, after watching the spray dashing up 
against the rocks for a few minutes, he gave 
It up and putting the ship about, ran before 
the wind towards the south east. After 
passing the cape there Is little to see except 
bare, rocky hills and an occasional lone 
*'gammer" of a Lapp fisherman. The weather 
was bright but cold and windy. Along in 
the middle of the afternoon we passed some 
cliffs that were the nesting place of thou- 
sands of sea-birds and when the steamer's 
whistle was sounded they flew forth from 
the ledges, nooks and crannies in clouds, 
making a great clamor as they circled over 
head. Soon after passing these clIfFs we 
sighted the steamer **Sverre Sigurdsson" on 
its return trip. As the boat was heading 
into the wind, it was rolling considerably 
and after the experience of our run up to 
the cape this morning, for the sake of the 
family, I am glad we are not aboard, but in 
this old tub running before the wind. We 
stayed up on deck and saw the midnight 
sun, but at midnight it did not look very dif- 
ferent from the sun half an hour before 





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A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 57 

sunset on any winter evening at home, ex- 
cept that it was due north and instead of 
finally sinking below the horizon, it began 
to rise again. 

Sunday, July 27. 

Vardo, where we now are, has quite a 
good harbor, enclosed at one end by a fine' 
old stone sea-wall that connects a small 
island to the larger one on which the town 
is built. At the other side of the harbor 
there is also a wall with quite a picturesque 
old light house on the end near the entrance 
of the port. If the commerce of the place 
keeps on increasing, they will soon have to 
enlarge the harbor, for it is quite full of 
vessels of all sorts. After breakfast we 
landed, by means of a small boat, and found 
the town very dirty. Most of the houses 
are of timber, roofed with birch bark over- 
laid with sod, which is now quite green. 
The objectionable feature is that back of 
almost every house there is a *'hjelder" for 
drying fish and generally, as a result, a heap 
of fish heads and the like near by that 
smell powerfully. It is said that these heads, 
boiled with moss, are fed to the horses and 
cows during the winter. We walked past 
the church and around to the old fortress 



58 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

of Vardohus, founded in 13 lo and to which 
Norway once owed her hold of Flnmarken, 
but now garrisoned by only sixteen men. 
Never the less, when I tried to mount to the 
parapet to look at some field guns that were 
in place there, I was halted by one of the 
sixteen, who insisted on acting as our escort 
and by pantomime showed us where we 
could, and where we should not go. He 
finally brought us to a box, which, after un- 
locking, he opened, to show a beam on which 
were carved the names of Christian IV., of 
Denmark (1599), Oscar II., of Sweden, 
Haakon VII., of Norway, and Queen Maud. 
Of course the above named gentlemen, for 
lack of something better to do in Vardo, 
may have taken out their jack-knives and 
cut their names in that old log, just to pass 
the time away, but you can't make me be- 
lieve that the lady, no matter how accom- 
plished she may be, could handle edged tools 
with such skill. Why, the curve of the M is 
cut across the grain of the hard wood as 
smoothly as an engraver could put it on a 
copper plate. Towards evening our good 
ship steamed on to the town of Vadso, which 
has an excellent harbor, but, as there was 
nothing to see except cod fish hanging on 
frames to dry, we did not go ashore. 



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A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 59 

Monday, July 28. 
We are now at Kirkenes, which is as far 
as this steamer goes. Kirkenes owes its im- 
portance to mines somewhere in the back 
country, from which a narrow guage railway 
brings the ore here to be smelted. Shortly 
after our arrival a number of the passen- 
gers hired a fishing smack for a trip to Rus- 
sia. It is not a long trip and we all wanted 
to be able to say we had been in that coun- 
try, otherwise I don't believe any of us would 
have gone. Our craft, in addition to its 
sails, was provided with a motor that was 
concealed somewhere below decks and occa- 
sionally made itself heard through the 
exhaust. Originally the vessel was not 
intended for carrying passengers but fish, so 
the accommodations were not luxurious nor 
over clean. We sailed away up the Bogf jord 
some sixteen miles to Elvenaes, where we 
landed near an old saw mill. From there 
we walked up the Pasvik-Elv over a rough 
path to the Russian Chapel of Boris-Gleb, 
which is on the left bank of the Pasvik about 
four or five kilometers south of our land- 
ing place. It is a little, neglected hamlet, 
near a large church, and the inhabitants are 
mostly Lapps. When we arrived at the 
place the priest was saying Mass in a small 



60 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

chapel near the grave-yard and all the in- 
habitants, who seemed very devout, were 
with him. We waited a while until the peo- 
ple came out and the priest followed them. 
He was a very old man with a long, snow- 
white beard, so we all took off our hats to 
show our respect to him and when he po- 
litely returned the compliment by removing 
his cap I noticed he was quite bald. He 
wore a brown blouse over a light blue cas- 
sock or gown. On his breast was a large 
metal cross that hung from a chain about 
his neck and In his hand he carried a staff 
of dark wood that was Inlaid with bone or 
ivory. We had some difficulty in making 
him understand that we wished to see the 
interior of the large church near by, but 
finally he sent a man to unlock the door and 
show us about. The church Is a remark- 
ably fine building to be In such an isolated 
spot. It is built In the Russian style, with 
five domes that are surmounted by double 
crosses, chained to the roof. Inside, the 
main part of the church Is very plain but 
there is a high wooden screen across the 
chancel that Is richly gilded and has some 
quite good paintings on It. This screen shuts 
off the sanctuary from the main part of the 
church but has doors in front of the altar 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 61 

that are probably opened when the priest 
is saying Mass. The paintings on the screen 
represent our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, and 
the Archangels, Michael and Gabriel. On 
pedestals at each side, in elaborately deco- 
rated gilt frames, are holy ikons, one of 
Christ, the other of His Mother. There 
are also several silk banners hanging from 
poles and a number of large brass candle- 
sticks, with very small candles in them, in 
front of the screen. Finally, there is a 
pair of great stoves, built of masonry and 
tiles; one on each side of the church, that 
while not ornamental are probably very use- 
ful. Through a side door I got a peep be- 
hind the screen and noticed that the altar 
was low and so placed that the priest had 
to face the congregation when saying Mass. 
It was rather a long and rough walk there 
and back but all our party, which included 
a number of women and two small children, 
made the journey without accident. Maud 
was pretty well used up, however, by the 
time she got back to the boat. From Kirk- 
enes we returned to Vardo, from which 
place we begin our return trip. 

Tuesday, July 29. 
The Midnight Sun is something of a 



62 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

fraud. I stayed up last night to see it but 
the sky remained cloudy along the horizon 
and the orb of day went below the cloud 
banks. Of course it was light enough to 
read, but the sun was not visible for from 
half an hour before until the same time past 
midnight. Last Saturday night was the 
only time he has been a real good sport and 
stayed up with the boys. Well, tonight will 
be our last chance, for after July 30th, even 
at the North Cape he begins to sink below 
the horizon. About June the twentieth or 
after is the best time to see the Midnight 
Sun, for he is then at the highest point above 
the horizon, the spring storms are past and 
it is not so apt to be cloudy. However, as 
It is cloudy most of the time up here, it is 
only a lucky chance if people, who come in 
the Tourist steamers, see the Midnight Sun 
at all, for the boats arrive at the Cape about 
ten o'clock at night, if on time, and depart 
four hours later. At the various little settle- 
ments at which our boat stops the principal 
freight taken aboard is dried cod fish. Usu- 
ally a barge comes along side with a load 
of a hundred or more bales of dried fish, 
and as these bales weigh over two hundred 
pounds apiece, the donkey engine has to do 
the rest. Besides this, there has to be a 




Boris-Gleb 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 63 

man to run the engine and another to hook 
on the bales; and the fellow that was at- 
tending to the latter service at a place where 
we stopped at about four o'clock this morn- 
ing awoke me by singing Annie Laurie. It 
was in Norwegian but I recognized the air 
and listening could catch the lady's name. 
If it were not for the fish in the adjacent 
sea, this country would be uninhabitable. 
Most of the fishermen seem to use set lines, 
to which are attached a great many short 
hook lines about six feet apart, and at the 
end of the line they fasten a buoy made of a 
stick of wood six to ten feet long, to which 
are attached, by means of nets, several hol- 
low glass balls of various colors. Of course 
a glass ball does not soon loose its buoy- 
ancy and by having a certain combination 
of colors each man can easily identify his 
lines. Then another probable advantage 
is that the light reflected from the glass is 
visible a long way off and that makes them 
easier to find, if they drift away from the 
place where they were set. About four 
o'clock in the afternoon we rounded the 
Nordkyn, the most northerly point of the 
mainland of Europe, and soon we were 
heading to the south west. 



64- A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

Wednesday, July 30. 
The "Guide Book" says, "The Tourist 
Steamers to the North Cape are comfortably 
fitted up; but the company is sometimes 
noisy." "The Express and Mail Steamers 
are more convenient for those wishing to ex- 
plore the Nordland more thoroughly." I 
can add that they also are, sometimes very 
noisy and have other disadvantages, but our 
captain has been very accommodating and 
has done everything possible to make the 
trip pleasant. I would not advise travelers 
to go beyond the North Cape, for the life 
aboard the steamers becomes monotonous 
and the scenery is apt to pall. This morn- 
ing, thank goodness, we are back at Ham- 
merfest, which, I am afraid, we did not ap- 
preciate when we were here before, for it 
looks quite civilized now. After having 
taken aboard tons of cod fish, we pulled out 
at about three o'clock this afternoon bound 
for Tromso. About four or five hours later 
we passed the mouth of Lyngenf jord. The 
mountains, as seen from the ship, appear 
rugged and snow-capped. The light was 
peculiar. It was cloudy and everything, 
mountains, sky, and water looked blue, like 
a stage scene supposed to be in Fairy Land, 
save where the snow lay on the top of a dis- 




Landing at Hammerfest 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 65 

tant peak, or where a nearby hill was cov- 
ered with green moss, and even those had a 
bluish tinge. 

Tuesday, July 31. 
I did not get a chance to see Tromso, as 
we arrived there at about two o'clock this 
morning and only remained for an hour. 
When I got up we were at a place called 
Gibostad and it was pleasant to see some 
trees again. The fare aboard the boat is 
good. We have all the fish we can eat at 
every meal. Today at dinner it was de- 
licious trout. Then there are always various 
kinds of sausages and preserved meats, but 
the fresh meat is usually stringy, tough, and 
tasteless. In addition there are all kinds of 
canned fish : anchovies, sardines, pickled her- 
ring, and caviare. Among the Norwegian 
passengers these delicacies are very popular, 
with cheese, especially a brown variety made 
of goats' milk, that looks like a huge bar of 
Windsor soap and tastes as though it had 
been soaked in molasses and hung up to dry. 
At my first trial of that variety of cheese, 
I thought it was a joke, but, after a Nor- 
wegian friend had shown me how to cut it 
in thin slices and spread it on a piece of well- 
buttered bread, I learned to like it. Cap- 



66 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

tain Steen of our boat is a fine old Norseman, 
with a kindly face and a cheerful word for 
everybody. He is suffering from some seri- 
ous disease, for he told me he had under- 
gone three different operations and still was 
enduring much pain. He has been in com- 
mand of this ship for over twenty years 
but the first mate tells me that probably 
this will be the old gentleman's last voyage. 
Near Harstad, a thriving little town on the 
Island of Hindo, is the old church of Thron- 
denaes, built in iioo and for a long 
time the most northern place of Christian 
worship in Europe. We passed quite near 
it, just before entering the harbor, and had 
time permitted I should have liked to visit 
the old building, but we made only a short 
stop at Harstad, which is one of the pret- 
tiest places within the Arctic Circle and may 
some day become quite a summer resort. 

Friday, August i. 
A little rough this morning. We are now 
back to Svolvaer in the Lofoten Islands. 
Took a walk about the town while they were 
loading up the boat with cod fish and numer- 
ous barrels of salt herrings. The herring 
is a very useful fish. From it almost any- 
thing that comes out of the sea can be manu- 




Bridge of S. S. Haakon Jarl 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 67 

factured. From small ones they make an- 
chovies and sardines. The medium sized 
fish are put up as appetizers and pickled 
herrings, while the large ones are smoked, 
salted, or kippered. I have said so much 
about herrings lately that at breakfast 
Charles sprung a little rhyme which he had 
composed for the occasion : 
Here's to the herring that lives in the sea 
That girdless the globe, an iconoclast he. 

He's made into anchovies, smelts, and sar- 
dines, 
And Russian caviare by pressing through 
screens. 

Is cheese made of goat's milk? You'd bet- 
ter go slow. 
When the herring's around, you'll doubt 
it I know. 

Saturday, August 2. 

We are back to the town of Bodo this 
morning and the sun actually came out from 
behind the clouds for a while to give us a 
welcome. It was very fortunate we crossed 
the Vesterfjord last night instead of this 
morning for the sea looked rough outside 
the breakwater. They must have some bad 



68 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

Storms here in the winter, for they tell me 
the sea-wall is then often swept away by the 
waves. 

Sunday, August 3. 

Cloudy and rainy again today. About 
noon we got a distant view of Torghatten 
and it looked quite like a large hat afloat on 
the water, but before we reached the island, 
it was lost to sight in the fog. One of our 
passengers is a young Dane who speaks Eng- 
lish, such as is learned from *'First Lessons 
in the English Language." He can ask a 
number of questions, but does not readily 
understand the answer. To-day he told me 
he did not understand my English very well, 
because I spoke "with an American accent." 
Now that gives me something to think about. 

Monday, August 4. 

The sea was very rough last night and 
our little ship was tossed about in a fearful 
manner. Several times during the night I 
was awakened by a crash of crockery in the 
pantry, near by. As soon as it was light 
enough to see, I got up and looked out of 
the port-hole and the waves were indeed won- 
derful. They must have been fifteen feet 
high and as they dashed against the rocks 



i 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 69 

a great column of spray would fly up in the 
air. By breakfast time we were back in the 
shelter of the Skjaergaard. About the mid- 
dle of the afternoon we landed on the Bra- 
toren pier, Trondhjem, and now are back 
in our old rooms at the Britannia Hotel. 
After getting settled and glancing through 
the large bundle of letters that has been 
awaiting my return, I went over to Thomas 
Bennett & Sons and asked them to prepare 
for us an itinerary of a trip through the 
fjords to the south, only naming a few places 
we would like especially to see. Then I 
walked up to Kristiansten, the old, castel- 
lated fort on the hill back of the town. It 
is a primitive, rude affair, but, no doubt, has 
bori^ the brunt of many a fierce attack In the 
stirring times that are recorded in Trond- 
hjem*s Saga. 

Tuesday, August 5. 

It rained hard last night and there have 
been several showers this morning. We 
spent the time walking about the streets, 
getting an occasional peep Into the old 
houses of the town, so different from the 
modern ones here and in Bergen and Chris- 
tiania. These houses, which are not so very 
ancient, are probably built after the same 



70 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

plan as those mentioned in the Sagas. Of 
course none of them are much over a hun- 
dred years old, for this town, like most 
others in Norway, has been burned down at 
least a dozen times. The old houses here 
are built around a court, have a big door- 
way leading out into the street and only a 
few small windows high up, that look out 
on the thoroughfare. Therefore, I judge 
they are built on the same plan as the houses 
that existed in the town over nine hundred 
years ago, one of which houses is referred 
to in the following quotation from "Gret- 
tir's Saga," where an event that took place 
one afternoon, long ago, in the old town, is 
vividly described. 

"It happened one day when Grettir and 
Arnbiorn were walking through some streets 
for their sport, that as they came past a 
certain court gate, a man bounded forth 
therefrom with axe borne aloft, and drave 
it at Grettir with both hands ; he was all un- 
awares of this, and walked on slowly; Arn- 
biorn caught timely sight of the man, and 
seized Grettir, and thrust him on so hard 
that he fell on his knee; the axe smote the 
shoulder-blade, and cut sideways out under 
the arm-pit, and a great wound it was. Gret- 
tir turned about nimbly, and drew the short- 




ffi 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 71 

sword, and saw that there was Hiarandi. 
Now the axe stuck fast in the road, and it 
was slow work for Hiarandi to draw it to 
him, and in this very nick of time Grettir 
hewed at him, and the blow fell on the upper 
arm, near the shoulder, and cut it off; then 
the fellows of Hiarandi rushed forth, five 
of them, and a fight forthwith befell, and 
speedy change happened there, for Grettir 
and Arnbiorn slew those who were with 
Hiarandi, all but one, who got off, 
and forthwith went to the Earl to tell 
him these tidings." Grettir, let me add, was 
a tourist from Iceland and he had a hot 
time in the old town, if we may believe his 
Saga. As another thunder storm was threat- 
ening the family decided to go back to the 
hotel. Seeing the striped pole of a barber 
across the Market Square, I went over and 
entered the shop to avoid the rain and spend 
the time profitably by getting my hair washed 
and cut, for it had need for both , after 
the trip north. The barber did not speak 
English but he understood the sign language 
and when he had finished cutting my hair, I 
tried to make him realize that it needed a 
shampoo. Again success crowned my efforts 
and when he had got my head well lathered, 
by the same means, he made me understand 



n A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

that I was to step over to a washstand and 
bend over it with my face in the bowl, which 
I did and waited for him to souse the water 
on the back of my neck, as they do in for- 
eign parts, but I was hardly prepared for 
what happened. Grabbing me by the hair 
of my head so there was no escape, he 
turned on the water, which came with a rush 
from the bottom of the basin and hit me 
full in the face. It was ice cold and the ef- 
fect was so startling that I nearly choked 
from the water I swallowed and never knew 
how the soap was removed from my locks; 
but, on recovering my composure, found it 
had been accomplished, much to the amuse- 
ment of the barber and his barbarian com- 
panions, whose uproarious peals of laughter 
still could be heard even after I had slammed 
the door of the shop on making my exit. 
Well, thank Heaven that they are more civi- 
lized than they were nine hundred years ago. 
Never the less, of all the people in Europe, 
that I have seen, the inhabita.its of Trond- 
hjem, somehow, seemed the most like Ameri- 
cans. The men are tall, broad shouldered, 
with grave faces; their noses generally aqui- 
line and their eyes and hair usually brown, 
blonds being the exception. While not given 
to mirth they seem to be extremely kind 




Trondhjem's Wharves 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 73 

and you hear little quarreling or noise. As 
to the women, well, I was constantly mistak- 
ing the younger ones for American girls. 
You see many oval shaped faces with small 
features, low foreheads, straight noses, and 
frank brown or gray eyes, set far apart be- 
neath but slightly arched eyebrows; such a 
face as is often seen in Dublin or among the 
Puritan stock of New England. The same 
kind of a face artists love to give to Pris- 
cilla Mullen, when they paint a picture in 
which she appears. Can it be the typical 
face of women of the Norman Race, or is 
it a general type that is common to many 
nations ? 

Thursday, August 7. 
At eight o'clock this morning we took the 
steamer for Christianssund on our way to 
Molde. The steamer is small but the dinner 
aboard was quite as good as on the large 
boats. For dessert we had delicious straw- 
berries, all we could eat, and they brought 
in big pitchers of rich cream to pour over 
them. The captain is a good natured, ruddy 
faced, portly, old gentleman, who exerted 
himself to make it pleasant for us. He was 
accompanied in his walks about the deck by 
a couple of sedate setter dogs that followed 
at his heels as close as a pair of shadows. 



74 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

We first proceeded down the Trondhjems 
Fjord until we passed the batteries at the 
entrance. Then the boat turned into Trond- 
hjemsleden and passing between many beau- 
tiful islands came at last to Christianssund, 
a busy, growing town, that is built on the 
several islands about its harbor. Communi- 
cation is kept up between these islets by 
means of small ferryboats that come and go 
every few minutes from a landing place near 
the dock to which our steamer made fast. 
The town is close to the open i^ea and is an 
important fish-market. On Skerpen, an out- 
lying island to the north, are the drying 
places for the klipfish, which is like our dry, 
salt cod, and is mostly shipped to Spain and 
Portugal. Here we had to change to an- 
other boat that took us on to Battenfjord, 
where we landed and took autos for Molde. 
We arrived at the latter place a little after 
ten o'clock and got rooms at the Alexandra 
Hotel. Notwitshtanding the late hour it 
seemed quite lively, for the "Meteor,'* a 
large tourist boat was in the harbor and 
many of her passengers were lingering about 
the hotel or embarking at a nearby landing. 

Friday, August 8. 
Molde looks very attractive today. The 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 75 

vegetation is so verdant and the mountains 
across the fjord are so distinctly visible. To 
be sure there have been several showers 
this morning, but the sun comes out so 
brightly after they are over! It really seems 
warm for the first time since the beginning 
of our trip to the North Cape. I was rather 
surprised, therefore, on looking at the ther- 
mometer to find that it stood at only sixty 
degrees Fahrenheit. Maud, Marian and I 
walked up on the hill back of the town and 
found some very pretty places, but whether 
they were just summer homes or all the year 
habitations we were unable to decide. At 
four o'clock in the afternoon we took a small 
steamer and crossed to Vestnaes. From 
there we went by auto, first along the Tres- 
fjord by a highway built somewhat after the 
plan of a switchback railway and finally by a 
smooth road across the mountains to Soholt. 
The scenery along the way is quite pretty, 
especially during the descent to our stopping 
place, which is a small, rural village, whose 
inhabitants are extensively engaged in fish- 
ing and in farming as a diversion. Near our 
hotel is a field on the upper part of which men 
are busy cutting the scanty hay crop, which 
is carefully hung on the fence to dry; while 
on the edge near the water, are numerous 



1(> A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

Stacks of fish that are also drying under cir- 
cular, roof-like covers. 

Saturday, August 9. 

We left Soholt after breakfast on a motor 
boat bound for Oie. The craft, which is 
manned or undermanned by a crew of two 
lads, about fourteen and sixteen years old, 
is seaworthy, but that is about all one can 
say in its favor, for a dirtier, greasier tub, 
it would be hard to find. Our only fellow 
passengers are a couple that hail from New 
Jersey, but who try to make us believe they 
live in New York City. We chugged along 
down the Nordfjord through a part of the 
S tor fjord and turned into the Jorundfjord, 
which is one of the most superb in Norway 
and is quite different from the deep cut and 
upright walled canyons of most of the other 
fjords. Here you see picturesque ranges 
and mountains, some of them with alpine 
peaks, others with great notches ("skard"), 
while above are snow and glaciers. Turning 
into the Norangfjord, an arm of the Jorund- 
fjord, we soon came to Oie, where we dined 
at the Union Hotel. This hotel seems to be 
quite a resort for mountain climbers. In a 
book, kept in the reading room for the pur- 
pose, a number of boobies have scribbled 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 77 

their tales of how they made the ascent of 
the **Slogen*' or some other peak. 

Although the weather looked threatening, 
after dinner we took stolkjaerres for the 
drive to Hellesylt. About five kilometers 
from Oie up the Norangdal there is a lake 
that was formed May 28, 1908 by a land- 
slide from the top of the Kjeipen, which 
dammed up the valley. The pond, formed 
by the dam is about six hundred and fifty 
yards long and, as we passed up along its 
shore, we could see down in the clear water 
the ruins of several houses, while, coming up 
out of the depths, at the upper end of the 
lake, we could see over a hundred yards of 
the old road. The boy who drove my cart 
told me he had often passed over this piece 
of road before the water was there. At 
Hellesylt we had supper after which we 
took a steamer for the Geir anger Fjord, 
noted for its bold cliffs and many waterfalls. 
The most famous of the latter are the 
"Seven Sisters," that fall from a perpendicu- 
lar rock over a thousand feet high. Shortly 
after passing these beautiful waterfalls we 
came to Marok, where we landed. As there 
was only room for my wife and daughter in 
the hotel auto-buss, the boys and I walked 
up to the Union Hotel, which we found to 



78 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

be quite a climb. From the porch, where 
we paused to rest, there is a fine view of the 
fjord and the near by Storfos. The enter- 
prising proprietor of the hotel has utilized 
the waterfall to furnish electricity for light- 
ing his house and grounds. 

Sunday, August lo. 
After breakfast we started by auto up 
the road to Grotlid. When Marian looked 
ahead, she asked where we were going. I 
told her, *' Right up over the mountain you 
see in front of us." She would not believe 
me, and to tell the truth I was doubtful 
about it myself, it looked impossible. We 
began to ascend rapidly by zig-zags, turning 
corners that would have been impossible for 
a long American automobile but were easily 
negotiated by the dumpy little Adler car we 
were in. We passed stones marking an alti- 
tude of live hundred, eight hundred, and, 
finally, a thousand meters. This road is a 
wonderful piece of engineering and even in 
Switzerland it would be considered remark- 
able. We traveled some seventeen kilome- 
ters to reach the top of the mountain and 
then were less than six kilometers in a 
straight line from our starting place. Soon 
after passing the highest point we came to 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 79 

a large lake that is the source of the Otta, 
which empties into the Lougen, up which 
we traveled several weeks ago, when on our 
way to the Romsdal. After following the 
road along the banks of this lake for a 
couple of miles, we came to the rigs that 
were waiting to take us on to Grotlid, for the 
farmers of the district that we have now 
reached do not allow automobiles to travel 
over their roads. The hotel proprietor at 
Marok had promised he would have two 
carriages meet us here, but only one was a 
caleche, the other being an ordinary stolk- 
jaerre. We all climbed out of the auto, 
which had to go back, and, after putting my 
family into the four-wheeler, I got into the 
cart, along with the Englishman who had 
already taken possession. Before we had 
gone far the boy who was driving, tried to 
show us some reindeer on the other side of 
the lake. He said there were half a dozen 
on the mountain side, but I could not see 
them, they being too far away and from the 
lack of interest displayed by the English- 
man I doubt whether he saw them, although 
he said, "Yes ! yes." At Grotlid we stopped 
for dinner, and when we resumed our jour- 
ney we turned back, going up the Vatsvend- 
dal, a valley that branches off to the west 



80 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

from the one down which we had come. 
While passing a low ridge I happened to 
spy a small bunch of reindeer on some snow 
high up on the mountain side to our right 
and on turning a bend in the road we came 
in sight of a big herd of deer that were on 
a large snowfield lower down. I had the 
driver stop his horse, intending to wait until 
my family came along, so that I might call 
their attention to the herd, but immediately 
the Englishman jumped out of the cart and 
ran up the mountain side saying, ^Tm going 
up to see those deer.'* I thought the poor 
"simp" had gone crazy, for they were at 
least a mile away, but as he would not come 
back when called, I got out my field glasses 
and watched the deer until the folks came 
along, when I called their attention to the 
unusual sight. In the meantime the Eng- 
lishman had disappeared over the nearest 
ridge and after a short pause my family 
passed on, but I had to wait for the return 
of my companion. Soon the deer that were 
higher up began to move away, but the 
main herd remained quiet. At last the Eng- 
lishman appeared on the snow quite near 
the herd, coming up to them from behind 
some rocks. When they finally discovered 
him and took alarm, it was a fine sight, as 




Geiranger Fjord 



1 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 81 

they galloped across the snowfield and up 
the mountain side. When my companion re- 
lumed he looked extremely hot and was 
[pretty well blown. As he had no overcoat, 
I wrapped the old lap-robe about him and 
we hurried on to overtake the rest of our 
party. Near the top of the pass we had to 
stop to rest the horses and that gave us a 
chance to walk on a near by snowfield. At 
Videsaeter Hotel we had tea and saw the 
stuffed skin of a bear, that the woman in 
charge told us her husband had killed the 
previous winter. She also confided to me 
that her husband knew where there were 
three more that he intended to kill during 
the coming winter and, if I desired to go on 
a first class bear hunt, it would be the oppor- 
tunity of my life. Although I may look like 
a first class bear hunter, it was not enough 
to induce me to stay over, even if in addition 
the view from the hotel was wonderful. 
From here our road is all down hill to 
Hjelle and a very fine road it is, but not 
quite equal to that at Morak. From Hjelle 
we took a boat on the Strynsvand for Min- 
dre Sunde. On the boat an Englishman, of 
another breed than the one with whom I 
had been traveling, sought my company. He 
was spending a couple of weeks fishing for 



»» 



82 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

salmon in the stream that is the outlet of 
the lake. If I remember rightly, he said 
Admiral Seymour rented the stream, paying 
for it three thousand krone per year. He 
was quite a pleasant gentleman, probably a 
soldier, but I did not altogether like the way 
he "rubbed it in" to Bertie, my traveling 
companion and his fellow countryman, who 
was not a bad little chap, and really had a 
sense of humor, as shown by the following 
conundrum he got off, 
"Why did the fly, fly?" 
"Because the spider, spied her.' 
Bertie wanted to join in the conversation 
but the new man ignored him, could not 
see him, and would change the subject as 
soon as Bertie began to speak. On the way 
down from Mindre Sunde, where we took 
stolkjaerres, we saw the Admiral's fishing 
lodge. It was a small white cottage on the 
other side of the river and I am glad we saw 
it, for you read so much about hunting and 
fishing lodges, and I had never seen a lodge, 
except a Masonic Lodge Building. To reach 
this lodge there was a cable strung across 
the river, from which a chair was suspended 
by a trolley that was pulled back and forth 
by a small line, a halyard I suppose the Ad- 
miral would have called it. We had the 



BE,' 


1 / ' yi 


> * 

U- ^. 4:; I .; 


^^m ' /-' I 






Bjlll^- > 









A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 83 

pleasure of seeing my salmon-fishing friend 
crossing in the chair as we were passing. 
Further down there is a fine Glacier Pot, 
that was cut through when they built the 
road. We arrived at Visnaes about eight 
o'clock in the evening and the hotel porter 
seemed greatly surprised when told that we 
had come from Morale since morning. The 
proprietor of the hotel must be something 
of a sportsman, for he keeps a couple of 
pointer dogs and no one keeps dogs in this 
country unless they have use for them. In 
the office he has some fine martin pelts that 
he offered for sale at one hundred and fifty 
krone apiece. He said he bought them from 
the peasants of the neighborhood, but I 
would not be surprised if he hunts them with 
his dogs. That would be about a Norwe- 
gian's idea of sport. Several days ago I met 
a native who told me he owned two farms 
that he kept because of the fine trout fishing. 
I thought he was a dead game sport, and 
asked what kind of flies he caught them 
with. He said, "Oh! I don't catch them 
with flies, I catch them with a net." 

Monday, August ii. 
Left Visnaes by boat for Sandene, steam- 
ing down the Nordfjord, the scenery of 



84 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

which, when compared with some of the 
other fjords, seems rather tame. The fine 
view you get of the distant Jostcdalsbrae, 
however, more than makes up for lack of 
towering cliffs. Just before arriving at our 
destination, we turned into the pretty Glop- 
penfjord, which is flanked on the west by 
lofty, snow-capped mountains. Went to 
Sivertsen's Hotel for dinner. The first thing 
I noticed, before entering the house, was the 
outlines of a salmon cut in the flag stone of 
the porch, and underneath was the weight, 
"42 lbs." and a date, not very recent. The 
next thing noticed was that all the maids 
and waitresses about the hotel wore the gay 
**Hardanger" costume, but that is getting 
to be an old story now. I had a short chat 
with the proprietor, who told me that he 
had lived in Aberdeen, South Dakota, but, 
having inherited this hotel, had to come back 
to take care of it. At four oVlock in the 
afternoon we took an automobile for Forde, 
where we arrived in time for a late dinner. 
On the way we passed several pretty lakes, 
a number of good farms and rode several 
miles through a beautiful pine wood. The 
only drawback was the number of gates that 
had to be opened and shut. At one place 
an old farmer presented my wife with a 




o 



e^ 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 85 

branch thickly hung with delicious currants 
and he did it with all the grace of a French 
courtier of olden times. Tonight we are 
stopping at another Sivertsen's Hotel, but 
the salmon outlined on the flag-stone of the 
porch is somewhat larger than the one at 
Sandene and is labeled, "52 lbs." The wo- 
man, who seemed to be in charge of the ho- 
tel, told me that the same Englishman had 
fished here for eighteen years. *'He rents 
the river for a five year term, and has re- 
newed the lease three times.** "Boots," 
however, told a different story, his version 
being that it was leased to "three parties." 
"The first party has it during June and pays 
one thousand krone, the second party has it 
during July and pays five hundred krone, 
while the third party, who has it during Au- 
gust, pays but two hundred krone, the fish- 
ing during the last month being very poor." 

Tuesday, August 12. 

The salmon fishermen disturbed my slum- 
bers last night or early this morning. The 
second time they awoke me, I got up, dressed, 
and went forth to investigate. All I found 
were some fish in a box under the big tree In 
front of the house. There was one salmon 
and four sea trout. While I was looking at 



86 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

them "Boots" appeared and after critically 
examining the catch said, ''the salmon is 
very poor, him been out of the sea too long.'* 
I asked how he knew? His answer was, 
"Because there are no lice on it." At ten 
o'clock we took an auto for Vadheime. The 
road soon began to climb a steep hill but, 
after we had crossed a high divide, we came 
to a valley where there were a number of 
good farms and many gates to open and 
shut. However, there were numerous chil- 
dren waiting to open each gate, hoping there- 
by to earn a few ore. We had with us in 
the car a young lady who had been heralded 
as, "one of the celebrated beauties of Nor- 
way." Well, she seemed to be very popu- 
lar and at almost every settlement friends 
came forth to greet her. After passing sev- 
eral small lakes we crossed a second divide 
and following down a stream, through a 
large farm that belonged to an Agricultural 
School, arrived at a little past noon at Vad- 
heime. Here we got a very good mid-day 
dinner and later took the steamer up the 
Sognefjord, which, needless to say, is not so 
grand as I had expected. Near Vik we got 
our first sight of the colossal, bronze statue 
of Frithjof, lately presented to Norway by 
the German Emperor. Not all the Nor- 



I 




ffi 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 87 

wegians are pleased by the compliment. One 
I talked with did not like the fact that the 
Emperor had brought forty war vessels with 
him to the dedication, whereas Norway had 
only twenty ships in her entire navy. In 
fact he intimated that the German Emperor 
might have it on his mind to gobble up some 
of Norway's fine harbors. The boat stopped 
for some little time at Balholm, which seems 
to be quite a resort and has several large 
hotels. We had supper aboard the steamer 
and about nine o'clock arrived at Laerdal- 
soren in a downpour of rain. After getting 
out our rain-coats, I went on deck to see how 
we could reach the hotel and avoid a soak- 
ing. Two men on the dock were holding 
up a banner with my name painted on it, so 
I signalled to them. They came aboard and 
told me they had carriages waiting to take 
us to the hotel, so after pointing out our bag- 
gage, I called the family. We made a dash 
for the rigs, tumbled in and were driven 
through the rain to our hostelry, which was 
quite a distance from the landing place. 

Wednesday, August 13. 
Our object in coming to Laerdalsoren is to 
visit the Church of Borgund, one of the old- 
est and best preserved "stavekirkes" in Nor- 



88 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

way. After breakfast we got into a couple 
of caleches, that I had engaged last night of 
our friends who bore the '^strange device" 
and we started on our all day ride; the boys, 
ahead in the rig drawn by the buckskin bron- 
chos, Maud, Marian; and I following, be- 
hind a pair of dark bays. Of course there 
were a couple of drivers along but, as they 
could not speak a word of English, they did 
not count. Our route was up the valley of the 
Laera, a famous salmon river, that has been 
made convenient for the sportsmen by 
means of light iron bridges and ladders, so 
they can reach with ease the best points for 
fishing. I was told that one man paid ten 
thousand dollars per annum for the fishing 
privileges but I doubt the truth of the story, 
as it is too long a stream to be fished from 
one locality, so it is probably let to several 
parties for a sum total equal to that amount. 
Above Husum, which is quite a resort for 
trout fishing, begins the picturesque gorge 
called Svartegjel, after passing through 
which, the valley broadens and soon we came 
to the old stavekirke. Borgund Church dates 
from about 1150, but is first mentioned in 
1360. This kind of a building is called a 
**stavekirke'* to distinguish it from churches 
erected since the Reformation, which are 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 89 

built of logs laid horizontally. In fact it is 
said that no stavekirkes were built after the 
Reformation. In this kind of a building the 
walls consist of corner posts connected by 
sills below and plates above, with the spaces 
between the posts filled in by vertical planks, 
mortised to each other and fitted into 
grooves in the sills and plates. The plan, so 
far as a difference of material allows, is that 
of the Anglo-Norman church of the period. 
To the rectangular body of the church is 
added a square choir ending in a semircircle. 
The broad and lofty nave is separated from 
the low, narrow aisles by wooden columns. 
Over the gabled roof of the nave rises a 
square tower, ending in a slender spire. The 
dragon-head enrichments of the gables re- 
semble that of a ship's prow of Viking times. 
The roof of the choir is lower, and is 
crowned by a round turret with a conical cap. 
Around the whole building runs a low ar- 
cade, which according to popular belief was 
used as a shelter in bad weather before and 
after service, and undoubtedly did serve to 
preserve the building's most important parts 
the ground-sills from damp and decay. When 
I asked our old guide as to the use of this 
gallery he insisted it was intended as a place 
for the Vikings to store their arms and 



90 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

armor before entering the sacred building. 
My own opinion is, that while it may have 
served for all these purposes, it was origin- 
ally intended for a woodshed. When you 
enter the church and the doors are closed, 
the only light admitted is through small 
openings high up on the walls of the nave. 
A guide book says, "Window glass was un- 
known in Norway at that period, and the 
services probably consisted solely of the 
Mass, chanted in the candle-lighted choir, 
while the congregation knelt in the dark 
nave." Dark and cold it must have been on 
a Norwegian winter morning, when the sun 
did not rise until after ten o'clock, unless 
someone had common sense enough to build 
a bon-fire in the middle of the church, to 
give light and warmth to the congregation 
kneeling or seated around. I say, "seated 
around" for there is still a seat extending 
all the way around the church next to the 
wall, save where the doors are cut through, 
and there were probably movable seats in 
front. At the time this church was built 
the dwelling houses of the people were usu- 
ally heated by a fire on a stone hearth in the 
middle of the room, while above there was 
a hole in the roof through which the smoke 
escaped. Now what about the square 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 91 

tower, With its ornamented gables over the 
nave? It was not the bell tower but must 
have had some use, otherwise I do not be- 
lieve it would have been put there, even 
though the old Vikings were lavish in deco- 
rations. Certainly it would make a fine 
chimney, if properly arranged, and, if that 
was its object and they actually had a fire up- 
on occasions In the church, a large shed would 
be necessary in which to store the winters 
supply of fire-wood and where could you 
find a more convenient place than in the ar- 
cade about the church. I have mentioned 
the doors. They are two at present, one to 
the south and the main portal to the west. 
The capitals of the columns, the doors, and 
the door frames are embellished with elab- 
orate and intricate carvings of dragons and 
other figures. In fact the western doorway 
is a wonderful work of art and goes far to 
prove that the Northmen of that day were 
experts in designing. During the drive back 
to Laerdalsoren we had a shower but with 
the tops of the caleches up and the water 
proof lap robes tucked about us we did not 
get wet. 

Thursday, August 14. 
We took a boat this morning for Gudvan- 
gen, which is at the head of the Naerofjord, 



92 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 



one of the narrowest and gloomiest chasms 
in Norway. The mountains surrounding 
Gudvangen are so abrupt and high that the 
little hamlet never sees the sun in winter. 
We only paused there long enough to engage 
stolkjaerres to take us on to Stalheim. After 
a ride of an hour or so we came to the foot 
of the Stalheimsklev, which abruptly closes 
the valley. Here we had to get out and 
walk up the "klev" or clijff, as it was impos- 
sible for the ponies to haul more than the 
carts and our hand luggage up the sixteen 
steep zig-zags by which the top is reached. 
Right and left are the Sivlefos and the Stal- 
heimsfos, two very picturesque waterfalls, 
and just at the top, between, is the big, red 
Hotel Stalheim, where dinner awaits us, 
otherwise I don't imagine we would have 
persevered in climbing. During the after- 
noon wc walked up to the "Keiser Wilhelm's 
Hoi'* above the hotel, from which point we 
had a fine view down the Naerodal, but the 
view is hardly as impressive as when you 
lean over the wall in front of the hotel, for 
from there it would be easy to toss a pebble 
so It would not strike anything until it 
reached the floor of the valley eight hun- 
dred feet below. The German Emperor 
seems to be popular here. In fact they have 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 93 

framed the page of the hotel register on 
which he inscribed his name and hung it up 
in the office, but I suppose he is not to blame 
for that. An Irish gentleman and his wife, 
whom we met at Laerdal and who bade us 
goodby at Gudvangen, came up to the hotel 
this afternoon. As he greeted me like a 
long-lost friend he told me in a half apolo- 
getic way that he found the "Goodharbor" 
too tough for him. I don't know just what 
he meant, but suppose the hotel was not sat- 
isfactory. Certainly the hotel here is all that 
one could expect, but it is probably run by 
a German or a Swiss. 

Friday, August 15. 

After breakfast we distributed ourselves 
among three stolkjaerres and started on the 
drive to Voss. The two boys wanted to go 
together and Maud had to have Marian 
with her, so that left me alone in my glory. 
We were closely followed by the Irishman, 
his wife and their friend, "WuUy," who rode 
together in a caleche. We trotted down the 
long incline behind the Hotel Stalheim until 
we came to the river. Following up the 
stream through the pine clad valley past sev- 
eral saw mills, we came in time to a beauti- 
ful lake. The water was so still that all the 



94 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

hills, woods, and farms on the opposite side 
were reflected on its mirror-like surface. 
Nothing ruffled the water but the rings where 
a trout would leap for a fly. As we drove 
along the banks we passed a monument that 
commemorates the death of two American 
travelers who perished by an accident. If I 
rightly understood my *'gut," "Them horse 
run him into lake, kill," was the way he told 
how it happened. His vocabulary was 
mostly limited to "yes" and "no" and gen- 
erally those words were used in the wrong 
way; for instance, when I asked if cheese 
was made of goat's milk, he answered, 
"no," and it was only after long delibera- 
tion that he gave the above lucid answer to 
my inquiries about the monument. Voss or 
Vossevangen is quite a town and is sur- 
rounded by some of the best farm land in 
western Norway. As we had over an hour 
to spare before dinner would be served at 
Fleischer's Hotel, we went to see an old 
"loft" which is the name they give to a two 
story farm house as opposed to the "stue" 
or house of one story. This particular "loft" 
is said to date from A. D. 1300 and, if I 
remember aright, our guide told us it was 
built by a burgomaster. It was an old wo- 
man who showed us about the place, first 




Statue of Frith j of 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 95 

leading us up an outside stair and through 
a gallery into the upper room, which had 
originally been lighted by small triangular 
openings in the walls, that were closed by 
wooden shutters. In more recent times 
glazed sashes had been inserted in the south- 
ern wall of the room to supply light. In this 
room was stored quite an assortment of old 
chairs, beds, tables, wooden platters, jugs, 
carved mangling boards, and other house- 
hold furniture. Down stairs there were 
several rooms and in them more rude, rural 
antiquities, like old harness, with carved 
hames and bow-saddles, sleds, sleigh-bells, 
side saddles, and old chests. After dinner we 
took an automobile for Eide. The road at first 
gradually ascended until it crossed a divide, 
then it followed down a stream until it came 
to a place where there are huge rocks on 
either hand and the valley suddenly ends; 
the road, however, does not, but descends by 
numerous windings into the Skjervet, a deep 
ravine flanked by high cliffs. On the left is 
the Skjervefos, which comes down by two 
leaps, the upper fall being a smooth, per- 
pendicular sheet of water, then there is a 
level space where the road crosses by a stone 
arch and below that a shute down which the 
water rushes, boiling and bubbling, to a quiet 



96 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

pool far below. After stopping for dinner 
at Maeland's Hotel in Eide, we took the 
boat on the Hardanger Fjord to Odda, 
where we arrived about half past ten o'clock 
and put up at the Hardanger Hotel for the 
rest of the night.; 

Saturday, August i6. 
Shortly after breakfast we took the 
steamer for Bergen and all the day will be 
spent on the famous Hardanger Fjord, the 
most often visited and best known of the 
Norwegian fjords. It presents a typical ex- 
ample of Norwegian scenery; the broad wa- 
ters of the fjord, the bold, rocky banks, the 
strips of fertile, farm land fringing the 
water, the forests on the mountain sides, and, 
above all, the great snow-fields of the Folge- 
fond extending from peak to peak. Aside 
from its scenery, the Hardanger Fjord is 
famous for two other things. The Hardan- 
ger violin, which, having never seen, I can- 
not describe, and the costumes of its women. 
These costumes we have had with us at 
almost every hotel where we have stopped 
since we landed at Morak. It consists of the 
**skaut," a peculiarly folded white linen cap, 
that now Is seldom worn, a crimson, sleeve- 
less bodice, trimmed with beads, worn over 
a white, shirt waist that has big puffed 




BORGUND StAVEKIRKE 



4 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 97 

sleeves, with a skirt of dark cloth, that 
is protected in front by an apron of embroid- 
ered linen, but, strange to say, while most 
of the waitresses and maids in the hotels 
hereabout wear it, the natives seem to have 
discarded the costume. Odda is very pictur- 
esquely situated but the scenery is marred by 
the tall, smoky chimneys of its carbide fac- 
tories. Steaming down the fjord, we again 
touched at Eide and then passed through 
ever changing, beautiful scenery until we 
came to Norheimsund, which is in my hum- 
ble opinion one of the most attractive spots 
in Norway. It is situated on a beautiful, 
island dotted bay and the view across the 
fjord with the Folgefond, looming above the 
intervening hills, is admirable. Along to- 
wards supper time we entered the Byfjord 
and ran into a fog, but, as we neared the City 
of Bergen, the sun came out and, as the light 
glittered upon the spires and domes of the 
town, it looked quite fairy like. Our boat 
entered the west harbor and we landed at 
a crowded pier, got into cabs and were 
driven to the Norga Hotel. This evening 
Charles' friend, Peter, called. 

Sunday, August 17. 
As we were all tired, we slept quite late 



98 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

this morning but managed to get up in time 
for the last Mass at a nearby church. Com- 
ing out of church, I noticed a Frenchman 
and his family that we have run across sev- 
eral times during our travels from the North 
Cape down to here. No, there was no pretty 
madamoiselle along but there was a small 
boy who wore short socks and had his thin, 
little legs bare up to his knees, that is why 
I have noticed the family. During the after- 
noon we took a walk and found the streets 
crowded. It feels good to get back to a 
town of some size, where you can see a num- 
ber of people. 

Monday, August i8. 
Spent the day going with Maud and 
Marian. We visited several fur shops and 
at one of the largest establishments saw | 
some beautiful furs, mostly fox skins. They 
had some magnificent silver tipped blacks, 
that were very high priced. Then, there 
were red and cross fox pelts. Finally, con- 
sidering them more appropriate, I selected 
four nice blue fox skins and told the dealer 
to make them up in a muff and stole for 
Marian. I wanted to get an ermine wrap 
for Maud, but she would not let me, saying 
she thought it too high priced. Well, it was 




o 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 99 

a beauty and she will never get as good a 
one so cheap. This evening Charles went 
to dinner at Peter's home. Of course, he 
and Peter are the best of friends, but I im- 
agine that a pretty sister was the principal 
attraction. In addition to the sister there 
was the father, mother and an uncle, and 
from the condition of my "hopeful", when he 
got home early in the morning, the toasts 
must have been frequent and varied. Never 
mind, we are only young once in a life time. 

Tuesday, August 19. 
We took the train for Christiania early 
this morning. The railway, which connects 
the two largest cities of Norway, is a won- 
derful piece of engineering work and was 
only completed in 1909. At first the road 
skirts the Sorfjord, on the way passing 
through many tunnels. Finally, by means of 
one half a mile long, the railway enters the 
Vosseelve. Turning and twisting, it follows 
up that valley until it reaches Voss, the place 
at which we took dinner last Friday while 
on our way to the Hardanger Fjord. This 
part of the railway has been long completed 
but from Voss on it is new, until we are 
across the mountains. After leaving Voss 
the road begins to rapidly ascend and finally 



100 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

reaches Myrdal, where the higher level road 
begins. From there on to Fense the scenery 
becomes quite arctic in appearance, as there 
are great snow-fields all around, even in mid- 
summer. For miles the train passes through 
a succession of snow-sheds and tunnels, but 
at last begins to descend and soon enters 
the Halling-Elv, following down that valley 
until Lake Kroderen is reached, when it 
again begins to climb, until it is four hun- 
dred and sixty feet above the water of the 
lake, when turning to the left, it passes 
through a long tunnel and immerges in the 
Sognedal, which it follows down to Hone- 
fos. From there the railway swings around 
in a great loop and enters Christiania from 
the north-east instead of the north-west, as 
it should, if there were no mountains in the 
way. We arrived at our destination quite 
late in the evening and went to the Victoria 
Hotel, where they gave us very nice rooms. 

Wednesday, August 20 

Most of the forenoon was spent in hunt- 
ing up our trunks, that had been forwarded 
to this place from Trondhjem. I finally got 
them delivered to the hotel, and then we all 
took a bath and put on clean clothing, the 
supply of which had run short. In the mean- 











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A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 101 

time, while I was on my hunt, Maud, look- 
ing out for the future, had sent the contents 
of the dirty clothes bag to be laundered. 
This hotel is quite an improvement, in some 
respects — to name one, "sanitary plumb- 
ing — " over the hotel where we stopped when 
here before. The only thing against the Vic- 
toria is the location, which is not in a pretty 
part of the town. When the Grand Hotel 
completes the improvements, that are at 
present under way, it will probably be the 
best place in the city to stop, but at present 
there is no place that can be called "first 
class." During the afternoon we visited a 
gallery of modern paintings, a place where 
they were for sale. Most of the pictures 
were by native artists and while some were 
excellent, I saw nothing that tempted me to 
buy. 

Thursday, August 21. 

Raphael and I went up to call on Captain 
Stephensen. He was not at home. On the 
way back I stopped at the ticket office and 
bought tickets to Stockholm, at the same 
time reserving a compartment in the train 
that leaves to-morrow morning at seven- 
fifteen. This afternoon Captain Stephensen 
called. The family was out but he stayed 



102 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

and, when they returned, took them to see a 
wonderful, new ship, without masts or 
smoke-stacks, and with an engine that uses 
crude petroleum, a supply of which it car- 
ries, sufficient to take it to South America 
and back. It is to sail for its distant port 
tomorrow and carries a large cargo and a 
number of passengers. My people were very 
much interested in what they saw and tried 
to describe it to me on their return, but the 
only thing I really understood was that the 
power is furnished by what is called a 
"Diezel Engine.'* I asked if it was like a 
gasoline motor. They seemed to think it 
was different. The captain stopped for din- 
ner and later his wife and son called and we 
had a very pleasant evening, but found it 
somewhat difficult to carry on a general con- 
versation as madam's and the young man's 
knowledge of English was almost as limited 
as was our knowledge of Norwegian. 

Friday, August 22. 

Had to get up early this morning to catch 
the train. For a short distance we followed 
the same route that we took on our first trip 
from Christiania. At Lillestrom we diver- 
ged from the Eidsvold line and followed up 
the east bank of the River Glommen, a 




A Stolkjaerre 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 103 

Stream that is mostly filled with huge timber 
rafts. At Kongsvinger we parted from the 
Glommen, the railway turning south east. 
We bade goodbye to Norway and entered 
Sweden at Charlottenberg. The province 
that we entered, Vermland, is rather flat, 
with numerous lakes and abundant forests. 
The farms seem to be larger and better than 
those of Norway. Karlstad on Lake Ven- 
ern is the principal town of the district. As 
it rained most of the day, probably the 
scenery along the way did not look as cheer- 
ful as it might have under different circum- 
stances. There was a dining car attached to 
the train, which was fortunate. After pass- 
ing through a number of small towns, we 
arrived at Stockholm about nine o'clock in 
the evening and went direct to the Regina 
Hotel, where they gave us very pleasant 
rooms, facing on a busy street. 

Saturday, August 23, 
It is a bright day and Stockholm looks 
very gay, especially down towards the Royal 
Palace, which is on a small island. We 
walked along the quay past the Opera 
House to the National Museum and, enter- 
ing, went up to the second flooor where the 
Picture Gallery is located. It contains many 



104 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

fine works of seventeenth century Dutch 
Masters and of the French School of the 
following century. Among the famous 
paintings by Dutch Masters, here exhibited, 
are two by Rubens, the "Sacrifice to Fertil- 
ity" and a ^'Bacchanalian Scene," copied at 
Rome in 1605, from famous works of 
Titlan*s now in Madrid. Between these is 
Rembrant's ^'Conspiracy of the Batavlans 
under Claudius Civilis against the Romans," 
painted in 1662 for the Town Hall of Am- 
sterdam and after the "Night Watch," the 
largest work by that master. There are also 
several admirable portraits by Rembrant, 
the best being the "Portrait of his cook." 
Frans Hals* "Fiddler" is an excellent ex- 
ample of that artist's work. Then there are 
several fine paintings by Jordaens, but the 
one by him that especially attracted our at- 
tention was, "The Lydian King Candaules 
tempting his favorite Gyges." The small 
Dutch pictures are hung in the cabinets ad- 
joining this gallery and are well worth care- 
ful study. In the "French Sal," is a collec- 
tion that is equalled In only one or two places 
outside of Paris. There are several works 
by Frangols Boucher, the finest of which is 
the "Triumph of Venus," perhaps his mas- 
terpiece. Among the eight subjects by Jean 




> 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 105 

Baptiste Oudry, the animal painter, the best 
is the "Stag Hunt." There are also fine ex- 
amples of the works of La Moyne, J. M. 
Nattier, Van Loo, and Chardin. Then there 
are three beautiful little pieces by Lancret, 
two of which, "The Swing" and "Blind- 
man' s-Buff", are very popular in engravings 
and color prints. However, our principal 
reason for coming here was to see what 
Swedish artists had accomplished. Painting, 
as an art in Sweden, only dates back to the 
end of the seventeenth century, and most 
of the earlier artists were portrait painters 
connected with the court. If, however, 
there are no very old Swedish Masters, the 
country has produced some wonderful mod- 
ern artists. Cederstrom's "Body of Charles 
XIL, on its way to Sweden," is a very im- 
pressive winter scene, well interpreted. Hell- 
qvist's canvas called "The Sacking of Wis- 
by" is full of life and color. These two 
works show what can be accomplished in 
the way of historical paintings, even when 
the subject is of little importance. Liljefors, 
the animal painter, shows wonderful variety 
in his works. Sometimes he paints what 
might be called a study in white. As when 
he puts a white hare or ptarmigan in a 
snowy landscape, and, when you first look 



106 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 



at the picture, the creature is invisible, but 
after a time, it gradually takes form, and 
you wonder why you have not seen it before. 
Then again, his pictures are full of color, 
as in one, where he represents a pair of 
foxes stealing through a sunlit wood. Others 
are somber, as in the case of his "Eagles on 
the Wing," which represents the birds amid 
stormy clouds above a raging sea. Again, 
in the **Wild-Geese,** a flock of birds are 
lighting on a low sandy spit, with lurid clouds 
and dark waters for a back ground. Zorn 
is all color. Reproductions of his works, 
however, are so popular and numerous, that 
I shall not try to describe them. Another 
artist that is very popular is Carl Larsson, 
whose water colors of peasant life are 
charming. On the first floor of this build- 
ing is a very fine Ceramic Collection. 



Sunday, August 24. 
This morning we went to Mass at a little 
Catholic chapel a couple of blocks back of 
the hotel. The exterior was just like the 
rest of the houses in the block, but inside 
it was quite a nice little church. Almost all 
of the Swedes are Lutherans and churches 
of other denominations are rare, for, aside 




u 



X 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 107 

from this chapel, the only houses of wor- 
ship other than Lutheran in Stockholm are 
a Russian church and a synagogue. In the 
afternoon we took a walk through the park 
and across the bridge to the small island on 
which stands the Riksdagshus or Parlia- 
ment House. After a short pause to admire 
the architecture of the building, we crossed 
a second bridge to the island of Staden on 
which the Royal Palace stands. The Palace 
IS a large but rather plain building. Front- 
ing the bridge, over which we came, is the 
handsome approach to it called the Lejon- 
backen, from the bronze lions with which it 
IS adorned. Turning north, we walked 
around the building, past the east front, 
where there seems to be a high, terraced 
garden: thence along the south fagade, 
which seems to be the principal front of the 
Palace and is decorated with statuary and 
trophies cast in metal. I was going to say 
bronze, but someone told me they were lead. 
At a gate near the south-west corner, we 
entered the court yard, but after looking 
about, decided not to try to see the interior 
today. Returning, we continued along the 
west front and crossed a bridge that leads 
to an arcade back of the Riksdagshus and 



108 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 



which connects that building with the new 
Riksbank. From there we returned to our 
hotel. 

Monday, August 25. 

We all went to the Northern Museum 
today. It is an imposing, gabled edifice, 
built of reddish stone in the *'Vasa Style'* 
and is located on an island called the *'Djur- 
gard," once an old deer-park. The collec- 
tion consists of old Swedish furniture, im- 
plements, ornaments and costumes, to which 
has been recently added the collection of the 
Royal armory and Regalia chamber, consist- 
ing of weapons, court-costumes and histori- 
cal memorials, formerly preserved in the pal- 
ace. In the great hall are numerous suits of 
armor, among others a fine Maximilian 
fluted suit. Then there is a suit that once 
belonged to Gustavus Vasa, made at Augs- 
burg in 1540. Another, a superb equestrian 
suit that belonged to Erik XIV., was made 
by Lochner of Nuremberg. Finally, there is 
the helmet of Gustavus Adolphus, which 
weighs over thirty-two pounds, and many 
other memorials of that monarch, including 
a blood-stained shirt, said to have been worn 
by him when he fell at the battle of Lutzen. 
In addition, there are all kinds of weapons. 





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A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 109 

uniforms, and court costumes of lesser Swed- 
ish Royalty, but after all the most interest- 
ing part of the collection is that intended to 
illustrate Swedish peasant life. This part 
of the exhibit is arranged by provinces, and 
a number of rooms are reproductions of the 
interior of those in peasants' cottages. Typ- 
ical examples are, Room i : Province of 
Skane. Peasants' cottage from near Ingle- 
stad. The floor consists of well-pounded 
clay, strewn with sand. Above the gaily- 
colored, curtained bed-stead there is a strap 
to help the person in bed to raise himself. 
To the left of the bed is the "goose-bench" 
for geese, when sitting on their eggs. The 
room has been arranged for some festive oc- 
casion. The walls are covered with tapes- 
try; on the benches and chairs are many-col- 
ored cushions; and the table is laid for a 
feast with curious looking utensils. Room 
4: Province of Skane. This apartment 
along with other things contains a splendid 
collection of painted implements for the 
preparation of flax, among which the scutch- 
ing-knives and scutching-blocks deserve spec- 
ial notice. Scutching-knives were generally 
made by young men for their sweethearts, 
and were therefore gaily painted and artis- 
tically carved. Then there are spinning and 



no A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

weaving implements, mangling boards for 
rolling the linen, and blocks of glass that 
served as flat-irons. Blocks of glass of the 
same shape as those exhibited here have 
been found in graves of the ninth century. 
Room 15: Province of Dalecarlia. Interior 
of a peasant's cottage in the parish of Ratt- 
vik. The walls belong to a cottage pulled 
down in 1870. In the fire-place there is a 
niche called "the big hole" intended for 
wood; the *'smoke canopy" is supported by 
an iron post with a movable arm, on which 
the kettle was hung. The whole of the main 
wall in the background is occupied by a 
closet-bed with shutters. The bed consists 
of three tiers; the lowest, which in the day- 
time is covered by a flap, is in the form of a 
drawer that can be pulled out. Room 21: 
Province of Helsingland. Room from 
Delsbo, properly a state room for great oc- 
casions. In this apartment the weddings 
were celebrated, the new-born baptized, and 
the dead laid in state. Ceilings like the one 
in this room are rare in peasants' homes. 
The paintings on the ceiling and walls were 
done by a local artist of the eighteenth cen- 
tury. The windows have small leaded panes 
of greenish glass. In the left corner is the 
bed with a cupboard in the end of it. The 




Aabo-Elv, Odda 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 111 

table Is of an old-fashioned type. Beside 
it is a bench with a movable back and there 
are old-fashioned chairs, a large blue cup- 
board ornamented with flowers, a grand- 
father's clock of the kind typical of this 
neighborhood, and various other household 
utensils. In other rooms are collected ob- 
jects that give an Insight Into the customs 
In olden times among Swedish country peo- 
ple. Most of the objects are of purely local 
origin, but a few, especially from southern 
Sweden, show foreign Influence. Tables, 
chairs, beds, chests, and the like are mostly 
substantial and massive; the carving often 
showing artistic merit. Metal Is used al- 
most solely for tools. Glass Is rare, but pot- 
tery common. The cloth, carpets, and lace 
are strong and made to wear. The colors 
are primary and vivid. 

Tuesday, August 26. 
To continue yesterday's course of studies 
we went to-day to see Skansen. It is an 
open-air museum in an enclosure of about 
seventy acres, quite close to the Northern 
Museum, and is Intended to Illustrate the 
natural history and ethnography of Sweden. 
The fauna and flora are fully represented, 
while dwellings from different districts, many 



112 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

of which have been presented by patrons, 
complete the picture. The collection is not 
so picturesque as the similar one of Norwe- 
gian buildings at Christiania, but in a way 
it is more instructive as it gives a better il- 
lustration of primitive man^s progress in 
planning and erecting his house. After the 
Norseman rose superior to the wattled hut, 
his first structure was probably the "fire 
house," of which a good example brought 
from Solleron is shown. The fire house con- 
sisted of a single room, the walls of which 
were constructed of round logs, notched at 
the corners and built like the *'log cabins" 
of the American pioneers. The roof, which 
rested on round ridges, was made of split 
logs, laid in alternate layers flat side up and 
down. Over the hearth in the middle of 
the room there was an opening left in the 
roof that served as an outlet for the smoke 
and allowed light to enter. A hood of split 
logs which inclined towards the apex was 
often placed over the opening to prevent 
rain and snow from falling into the fire. 
The door was in one of the gable-ends and 
was protected in time by a kind of porch 
formed by the projection of the roof and 
side walls. The ground plan of the struc- 
ture is shown by figure i. 




Hardanger Girls 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 



113 




At the end of the room, furthest from 
the door, was a rough shelf that served for 
a bed. The cooking was done on the open 
hearth and a rude table with a bench or two 
completed the furniture. In time the open 
porch was transformed into an enclosed en- 
trance hall, which was furnished with a door 
in the gable opposite the doorway of the 
living room, and thus our Norseman has ad- 



J L 



Fig. 2 






I I 



114 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 



vanced one step in civilization by adding an- 
other room to his house. The ground plan 
of this building is shown by figure 2, which 
is the plan of the fire house brought from 
Hjarpesbodar. 

However, the position of the doors, one 
opposite the other, did not prevent rain and 
snow from beating into this house when it 
was stormy and the doors were opened. The 
outer door had, therefore, by the close of 
heathen times, in many places been moved 
to one side of the hallway so that it came 
at right angles to the *'house door." If the 
inner part of the entrance floor was shut off 
as a separate little room or "kove," we 
have a ground plan like figure 3. 



I 



Kove 



Fig. 3 



Hall 



f - 



This was the plan of many of the houses 
mentioned in the "sagas" and is the plan of 
the Mora house shown here, except that in 
that structure there is a stone chimney and 




r. 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 115 

a fire-place, instead of a simple hearth. We 
visited the various other exhibits, illustrating 
this gradual development in house-building, 
and inspected examples of out-buildings and 
store-houses; then, more elaborate struc- 
tures like the Has jo-steeple and the Framme- 
stad ; finally leaving them to see the collection 
of wild animals and birds. Probably the 
rarest of the animals, and to us the most in- 
teresting, were the European bison and elk. 
The bison looks very much like our buffalo ; 
and the elk, quite like our moose. Other 
animals that interested us were the otters 
and foxes. In the tank, where the otters 
were kept, one little animal was playing with 
a stone, which he balanced on his head as 
he swam around in the water. In the fox 
cage were several rare black and blue foxes. 

Wednesday, August 27. 
We went to Upsala today, for, like Trond- 
hjem in Norway, Upsala is the historic cen- 
ter of Sweden. Gamla Upsala, four kilo- 
meters north of the present town, was the 
seat of the early pagan kings of Sweden. 
The first Christian king of Sweden was Olaf 
Eriksson about A. D. 1000. He was suc- 
ceeded by several Christian kings, but the 
northern Svear rebelled and set up Blot-Sven 



116 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 



( 



c(. 



ifici 



.>» 



) as a rival king and 



sacnncing man 
stored paganism. It was only after long 
struggles that Erick Jedvardsson (the 
*'Saint";d. 1160) restored Christianity. In 
1 1 64 an archbishopric was established here. 
In 1276 the archepiscopal residence was 
transferred to the present town, while the 
kings migrated to Stockholm. The Univer- 
sity, the focus of the modern life of Upsala, 
was founded by Archbishop Jacob Ulf sson in 
1477. We first went to see the Cathedral, 
which is in the center of the town on the 
slope of the right bank of the River Fyrisa. 
The building was begun in 1260, and the re- 
sult was the largest church in Scandinavia. 
Architecturally it is Gothic, modeled after 
the French style; modified to suit the ma- 
terial, which is red brick. This is accounted 
for by the fact that the first architect was 
Etienne de Bonneuil, who had been an as- 
sistant at Notre Dame in Paris before he 
came here. The contract was concluded at 
Paris, September 8, 1287, but the work ad- 
vanced slowly, for the Cathedral was not 
consecrated until 1435. The building is 390 
feet in length by 147 feet in width and, like 
most churches in Scandinavia, has suffered 
several times from fire, but was completely 
restored in 1883-93 ^^ ^ cost of over a 



4 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 117 

million krone, when the slender copper- 
sheathed spires were added. Visitors enter 
by the west door. Passing through a vesti- 
bule, we entered the nave and were at once 
struck by the long rows of pillars that sup- 
port the lofty vaulting. There are numer- 
ous small chapels adjoining the side aisles, 
which in Catholic times were consecrated 
to Apostles and Saints, but that, since the 
Reformation, have been used to glorify kings 
and statesmen. The only one that interested 
us was the "Finsta Chapel,** named after 
St. Birgitta*s father, Birger Pedersson of 
Finsta. The walls of this chapel are adorned 
with the crests of the family and portraits 
of St. Birgitta and her daughter St. Kata- 
rina. St. Birgitta or St. Bridget of Sweden, 
as she is commonly called, at the age of 
thirteen was married to Ulf Gudmarsson, 
and we are told, "She acquired great influ- 
ence over her noble and pious husband, and 
the happy marriage was blessed with eight 
children, among them St. Catherine of Swe- 
den." In the chapel lie Birgitta's parents. 
Judge Birger Pedersson (d. 1328) and his 
wife Ingeborg Bengtsdotter, and on the 
ledge are their effigies in costumes of the 
fourteenth century. The adjoining chapel, 
known as that of King Gustaf Vasa, is the 



118 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 



oldest of all the chapels. It is behind the 
main altar and during the Middle Ages was 
consecrated to the Virgin Mary. In 1560 
the bodies of King Gustaf I., and his two 
queens were brought here and deposited in 
the crypt below. In the middle of the chapel 
is a monument of elaborate Renaissance de- 
sign, in yellowish marble, with the recum- 
bent figures of the king and his two queens. 
Facing this chapel at the back of the main 
altar, in a receptacle of iron grill work, is 
the shrine of St. Erik, containing the bones 
of the king, a crown, and part of his gar- 
ments. At the east end of the north aisle 
is a flight of stairs leading to the Treasury. 
Here are preserved an interesting collection 
of ancient vestments and hangings that be- 
long to the church. Every century from the 
twelfth down is represented. Besides the 
ecclesiastical vestments, the collection con- 
tains two groups of rare and valuable tex- 
tile objects of secular origin, the so-called 
Sture garments, consisting of costumes worn 
by the Counts Sture, who were murdered in 
the castle of Upsala in 1567. The second 
group are the so-called Margareta relics, 
brought home by King Carl X., after the 
treaty of Roeskilde from the cathedral of 
that city, supposed to have belonged to 




Upsala Cathedral 



i 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 119 

Queen Margareta of Denmark (d. 1412) 
and deposited here in 1658. Taken together 
they give a very good idea of what was worn 
by men and women of the nobility during 
the Middle Ages. On leaving the church 
we went around to see the south door, which 
dates from 1300 and is considered the finest 
of the three portals. From the church we 
went to the University Library, as we wished 
to see the famous Codex Argenteus, a trans- 
lation of the four Gospels into Moeso- 
Gothic, made by Bishop Ulphilas in the 
fourth century. The custodian led us into 
the Exhibition Room and showed us this 
ancient book. It is written in letters of 
gold and silver upon one hundred and eighty- 
seven leaves of red parchment, that time has 
faded to a soft purple, and is bound in an 
elaborate wrought silver cover that prob- 
ably was made a thousand years after the 
book was written and yet may have been old 
when the Pilgrim Fathers landed in America. 
This precious work was among the plunder 
taken by the Swedes at Prague in 1648, and 
was presented by Queen Christina to Vos- 
sius, her librarian, who in turn sold it for 
four hundred krone to the University. From 
the library we walked to the Slot on the hill 
south of the city, but it is an ugly old build- 



120 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

ing and there was little to see except the view 
of the town, the plain beyond, and the site 
of Gamla Upsala in the distance, marked by 
a little white church. On our way back to 
the station we met a company of Swedish 
soldiers that were out for a practice march. 
They were quite a husky looking lot of men, 
but not at all modern. 

Thursday, August 28. 
Did not feel well this morning, so I took 
a rest. Spent the afternoon in making ar- 
rangements for continuing our trip. Got 
tickets to Wisby, Kalmar, and as far as 
Copenhagen. Then went to a forwarding 
company and made arrangements to have 
our trunks sent to the last place, as I did 
not want the trouble of many transfers. 
It is very entertaining to watch the busy 
harbor front of this city with the many boats, 
coming and going. Townsmen leaving for 
a holiday in the country and country folks 
coming to the city on business. Stockholm is 
quite different from what I had expected. It 
is a very handsome city with most of the 
houses built in the French style. Then the 
the people look like Frenchmen. In fact 
most of them are dark, and not blonds like 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 121 

the Swedes that come to America, who are 
mostly peasants from the rural parts. 

Friday, August 29. 

This morning we visited the Royal Pal- 
ace and saw some of the apartments, but 
there was nothing remarkable in them or 
about them; in fact, all we saw was quite 
commonplace. From the palace we went to 
Riddarholms Church, called the Westmin- 
ster Abbey of Sweden. It was formerly the 
Grayfriar's or Franciscan abbey church, and 
was founded, it is said, in about 1280 by 
King Magnus Birgersson, who was called, 
"Ladulas" or "Barnlock," on account of the 
general security that prevailed during his 
reign. We know for certain that in his will 
this monarch ordered that his body should 
be buried in the abbey church of the Minor- 
ites or Grayfriars, and, furthermore, that he 
left a sum of money for the purpose. In 
accordance with his will, Magnus was buried 
in the choir of the church; but it is said 
there is no body beneath the canotaph to 
his memory, which is of much later date, 
having been erected towards the close of 
the sixteenth century by King John III. 
Later King Karl VIII., Knutsson, who died 
in 1470, was buried in Riddarholms Church 



122 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

and for many centuries afterwards it was 
used as a burial place. However, it was not 
until after the abbey church had been turned 
into a Protestant place of worship and Gus- 
tavus Adolphus was buried in a special 
chapel, that he himself had ordered erected 
here, that the church became a fashionable 
place of burial. From that date down to 
the present, nearly all the members of the 
Royal Houses that have ruled in Sweden 
have found a final resting place in Riddar- 
holms Church. One sovereign, however, 
Queen Christina, daughter of Gustavus 
Adolphus, is buried in St. Peter's at Rome. 
Most of the sepulchral chapels clustering 
around the church were added during the 
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and 
of them only the following deserve notice. 
The "Carolinian Chapel," the last resting 
place of Charles X., Charles XL, and 
Charles XII. The "Gustavian Chapel," 
where, in a stately sarcophagus, repose the 
remains of Gustavus Adolphus the Great. 
Finally, the Bernadotte Chapel, with the 
porphyry sarcophagus of Karl XIV., John, 
and the plain green marble coffin of the late 
King Oscar II., on which lay a large wreath 
of flowers that had recently been placed 
there by the King of Italy. In the vaults 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 123 

beneath these chapels are buried the numer- 
ous members of each family. Returning to 
the hotel, we packed our luggage and just 
about dusk took a train to Nynashamn and 
from there the steamer to Wisby on the 
Island of Gotland. 

Saturday, August 30. 

Arrived at Wisby early this morning, se- 
cured rooms at the Stads Hotel, and after 
breakfast went forth to see the town. The 
Island of Gotland, the largest island in the 
Baltic Sea, is ninety miles long and about a 
fourth as broad. It consists of a single 
plateau of limestone, rising from seventy to 
a hundred feet and ending abruptly on the 
seaboard in cliffs, here called *'klint." The 
history of Gotland and particularly of 
Wisby, is closely connected with the great 
ancient trade-route between Asia, Novgorod 
in Russia, and northwestern Europe. Before 
the twelfth century the trade of the Baltic 
was entirely in the hands of the Goths; but 
the growing importance of the traffic at- 
tracted the Germans, who soon became 
numerous in the town, and in 1280 Wisby 
and Lubeck formed an alliance for protec- 
tion against pirates. The wealth of the 
town, in its palmy days, was proverbial, but 



^^^Rr^ 



124 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

it was soon eclipsed by Lubeck, which place, 
as far back as 1293, got the Hanseatic 
League to decree that appeals from the fac- 
tory at Novgorod should no longer be heard 
at Wisby but at Lubeck. Wisby thus lost 
its hold on the Baltic trade and in 1361 
was captured by Valdemar IIL, of Denmark, 
after a bloody victory over the peasants, of 
whom eighteen hundred fell while defending 
the gates of the town, and the burghers had 
to pay a heavy tribute. Wisby lies at the 
base and on the slopes of the klint. It now 
covers only about half the area it occupied 
in the days of its prosperity, when it had 
twenty thousand inhabitants and sixteen 
churches. The town walls, built at the close 
of the thirteenth century of limestone from 
the heights around, are most imposing. On 
the land side the walls are twenty-four hun- 
dred and twenty yards long, and on the side 
towards the sea, about nineteen hundred and 
eighty yards in extent. Above the walls, at 
equal distances, rise high towers, with em- 
brasures, while between them are series of 
bartizans, that stand on the wall itself, sup- 
ported by corbels on the outer side. Of the 
original forty-eight high towers thirty-eight 
remain, but the bartizans have mostly disap- 
peared. Outside the walls the old moat is 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 125 

Still traceable and on the north side of the 
town it seems to have been tripled. On the 
land sides there are still four old gates stand- 
ing. Under the roof that once covered the 
walls ran a wooden passage for the senti- 
nels, the holes for the beams of which are 
still visible. The towers are roofless, hol- 
low and empty, and of the gates, without 
their doors, there is nothing left but the 
naked, gray stone skeleton. Most of the 
houses of the town are small, low cottages 
of modern construction, but among them are 
still a few ancient, high-gabled buildings 
and the ruins of a number of old churches, 
roofless, with empty windows and grass- 
grown floors. We first came to St. Cath- 
arines, once the church of the Franciscans, 
an elegant Gothic edifice, begun in 1230, of 
which the walls with many beautiful win- 
dows, twelve octagonal pillars, and some ribs 
of the vaulting still exist. Near by are the 
ruins of the "sister-churches" of St. Drotton 
and St. Lars, probably of even earlier date, 
for they have massive towers that suggest 
they may once have been used for defensive 
purposes. Higher up is the Cathedral of 
St. Mary, the only church still used for re- 
ligious services. This church is floored with 
tomb stones that are covered with coats of 



126 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

arms and ancient inscriptions. From the 
church yard the Norra Kyrko-Gata leads to 
the North Gate of the town. About half 
way along this street Is the curious Helge- 
ands-Kyrka or Church of the Holy Ghost, 
built In the Romanesque style, with two stor- 
ies and one choir In common. In the lower 
church are four massive square piers, that 
support the floor of the upper church, which 
has round pillars of the late Romanesque 
style to support Its roof. We ascended to 
the top of the walls and had a fine view of 
the town and the sea. From there we got 
a glimpse of St. Nicholas' Church in a side 
street near by and decided to visit it. St. 
Nicholas' is undoubtedly the finest of the 
ruined churches of Wisby. It dates from 
the early thirteenth century, formerly be- 
longed to a Dominican monastery, and was 
destroyed In 1525 by the Danes, then at war 
with Lubeck. In the west fagade, which 
lacks a portal, are two rose-windows. "Each 
window," says tradition, "once had a bril- 
liant carbuncle in the center, but these gems 
were carried away by King Valdemar, after 
he sacked the town." The main entrance is 
in the north aisle. The nave and aisles are 
divided by ten massive, square pillars; there 
are no transepts, and most of the windows 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 127 

are round-arched. While we were there, 
they were making extensive excavations in 
the church, but the only things the explorers 
had found were a great many bones that 
were piled in several heaps. Strange to say, 
most of them seemed to be those of beasts, 
and among them we noticed a number of 
horses' skulls, but after viewing the various 
piles, we did not find any that positively 
could be identified as having once been hu- 
man. From here we returned to the Norra 
Kyrko-Gata and passed out through the 
walls by the North Gate, where the road 
makes quite a dip to get under the arch. 
On past the ruined church of St. Goran we 
walked up to the Galgeberg, or Gallows-hill, 
with its three stone pillars, twenty feet high, 
and from this ancient place of execution we 
had a magnificent view of the town and its 
walls. Descending the hill by a path that 
passed the Robber's Cave, we followed the 
seashore back to the town. In the after- 
noon we looked up some of the old dwell- 
ings of the place, among them the Apotek, 
an old Gothic building of many stories, and 
the Burmeisterska Hus, built by a Lubeck 
merchant of that name in 1661 ; but most of 
the old dwellings of Wisby have disap- 
peared. 



128 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 



Sunday, August 31. 
This morning we took the boat for Kal- 
mar. As we sailed out of the harbor, Wisby 
looked very beautiful with its towers and 
houses shimmering in the morning sunlight. 
To add to the charm of the scene on the 
klint behind the town are several picturesque 
old windmills and to the north, the great 
stone gallows, standing like giant sentinels. 
Gradually the town grew smaller and smaller 
until it sank into the sea and in a couple of 
hours after leaving, the island of Gotland 
was a faint blue line on the eastern horizon. 
Then, when it had hardly faded, we sighted 
the northern point of the Island of Oland, or 
perhaps it would be more accurate to say 
the trees and lighthouse on the northern end 
of that island, for the land lies so low that 
it hardly shows above the water, even when 
quite near. Rounding the point we kept 
down along the west shore of Oland, pass- 
ing between it and the bold, rocky islet of 
Jungfra, which rises like a mountain from 
the deep, but is so small that it is marked 
by only a dot and a name on a good-sized 
map. Just before passing this island the 
boys became greatly excited over what they 
thought were some ship-wrecked men swim- 
ming for safety; however, as we drew near, 




^ 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 129 

their anxiety was relieved to find that what 
they had taken for men were only seals 
sporting about for their own amusement. 
Soon we came opposite Borgholm, near 
which, on a low hill, are the ruins of the fine 
old castle of the same name. It was begun 
in 1572 by King John III., on the site of 
an old fortress, and in 1651-1654, was oc- 
cupied by Charles Gustavus of Pfalz-Zwei- 
brucken, when heir-apparent to the throne 
of Sweden, for whom it was enlarged by 
Nic. Tessen, but it was finally destroyed by 
fire in 1806. A little to the east of the ru- 
ins is a royal domain and near by, on the 
seashore, is a villa that belongs to the Queen 
Dowager of Sweden. The shores of the 
island and the mainland were now rapidly 
approaching each other and soon Kalmar 
came in sight. The view of the city from 
the sea is quite fine, although somewhat 
marred by large factory buildings on the 
water front. Our steamer landed at a stone 
quay and, taking a carriage, we went to the 
Stads-Hotel. 

Monday, September i. 
As it stands on its green terrace, with its 
many towers reflected in the water by which 
it is almost surrounded, Kalmer Castle is 



130 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

one of the most picturesque buildings in the 
world. Formerly the site was an island, but 
it is now connected with the mainland by a 
narrow causeway. There are a number of 
halls and rooms that are shown to visitors, 
but the interior does not fulfill the expecta- 
tions raised by the outside appearance. 
Some of the royal chambers have fine inlaid 
floors and panelling in the ceilings and walls, 
and in one room there are large, colored re- 
liefs of hunting scenes of the time of Eric 
XIV. In fact our guide tried to make us be- 
lieve they were the handiwork of that king 
himself. I tried to get a guide book to Kal- 
mar, but the only one procurable was in 
Swedish, so you will have to look up further 
facts regarding this Schloss by yourself. In 
the afternoon we took the train for the 
south. Passing through Vexio and Lund, 
we came to Malmo, where we took the ferry- 
boat across the Sund to Copenhagen, arriv- 
ing there a little before midnight. 

Tuesday, September 2. 

We are stopping at the Palads Hotel and 
the windows of our rooms overlook 'the 
Raadhus Plads, on which faces the town 
hall, a fine, modern building, of which the 
citizens are justly proud. On the opposite 




i4 



U 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 131 

Side of the square from the hotel is the 
Tivoli, world famous as a popular place of 
recreation. This afternoon we went to the 
Ny-Carlsberg Glyptothek, which contains a 
splendid collection of ancient and modern 
sculptures, formed chiefly since 1882, under 
the guidance of experts, by Dr. Carl Jacob- 
sen, the wealthy brewer of Ny-Carlsberg, 
who presented the collection to the state 
along with a large sum for its maintenance. 
In this gallery are many beautiful works by 
French, Danish, Norwegian, and Italian 
sculptors, but probably the one that a visitor 
will remember best after coming away will 
be a little wooden statuette of St. Francis of 
Asslsl, by a Spanish artist, P. Mena y Me- 
drano. There is also quite a gallery of pic- 
tures on the second floor, some by old Dutch 
masters, but most of them by artists of the 
modern French school. 

Wednesday, September 3. 
The Thorvaldsen Museum contains a very 
complete collection of works of the great 
Danish sculptor, Bertel Thorvaldsen, born 
in Copenhagen, 1770, died 1844. He went 
to Rome in 1797 and worked there until 
1838. The building. In which the collection 
is housed, Is a gloomy looking pile In an 



132 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

antique style that is probably intended to be 
classical but certainly is funereal. Besides 
a collection of two hundred statues, one hun- 
dred and thirty busts, and three hundred and 
thirty reliefs, it contains the tomb of the 
artist and many of his personal belongings. 
Then, as if to add solemnity and dignity, it 
stands close to the Slot Christiansborg on 
the Palace-island. Of the statues of gods 
and goddesses from Greek mythology, I 
shall refrain from criticism, for most of 
them are casts or copies by pupils. The 
numerous portrait busts are very interesting 
and anyone can see that they are well exe- 
cuted. Some of the small reliefs are also 
pleasing. Of the collection of paintings by 
fellow artists the less said the better, for 
probably the master was guided in the selec- 
tion more by feelings of friendship and char- 
ity than by his artistic judgment. 

Thursday, September 4. 

Walked over to the Slotsholm or Palace- 
island jto see the Christiansborg Palace, orig- 
inally built by Christian VI., in I733-I745> 
but burned down in 1794 and again in 1884. 
Since 1907 it has been undergoing restora- 
tion after plans by Thorv Jorgensen. We 
walked around to the chief fagade, which 



J 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 133 

fronts east, but found it hidden behind scaf- 
folding. Opposite this front is the Ex- 
change, a picturesque building in the Dutch 
Renaissance style, with numerous gables and 
a tower one hundred and sixty-seven feet 
high, the upper part of which is formed by 
four dragons with entwined tails that cork- 
screw up until they end in a flame-like crest. 
Continuing our walk we passed the Royal 
Library and Arsenal, finally coming around 
to the rear entrance to the court of the pal- 
ace, where we turned in and found ourselves 
near the stables. There were some fairly 
good-looking horses that were being led 
about the court by grooms in scarlet liveries, 
but there was nothing else worthy of notice. 
Speaking of horses reminds me, they are 
not numerous here, but It Is remarkable how 
many people In this town, men, women and 
children, still use bicycles. There is a con- 
stant stream of people mounted on them 
passing our hotel; but automobiles are rare. 
In the afternoon we went to call on the 
American Minister, Mr. Egan, but found 
that he and his wife were In London. 

Friday, Septertiber 5. 

Took the train to Helsingor, which is 
about twenty-five miles down the Oresund 



134 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

from Copenhagen, and, as the day was fine, 
we enjoyed the trip immensely. Soon after 
leaving the city our train passed through a 
beautiful park, in which there is a Royal 
Chateau, and then we came in sight of the 
Sound, along the shore of which are numer- 
ous villas. After passing Klampenborg, the 
railway skirts the Dyrehave, a fine beech 
forest stocked with deer, none of which were 
in sight. Then we passed more villas and 
chateaux along the sea coast, among them 
one that belonged to the King of Greece. 
Suddenly the train plunged into the station 
at Helsingor and we had to hustle out. On 
emerging from the station, the first thing 
to attract our attention was the Kronborg 
with its many towers, a picturesque, fortified 
castle, that dominates the entrance to the 
Sound. It was erected by Frederic II. in 
1 577-1 5 85, on the site of the old castle of 
Krogen. As Kronborg was the chief reason 
for our coming to Helsingor and a broad 
road led from the station around the harbor 
in that direction, we at once headed that 
way. Just before reaching the castle we met 
a company of Danish soldiers and stopped 
to watch them. As they passed, at a word 
from the officer in command, they commenced 
goose-stepping, and the officer seemed quite 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 135 

proud of the accomplishment, but to us un- 
tutored Americans it looked ridiculous. 
However, it is quite the proper thing in 
Germany and may have some virtues as a 
setting-up drill. I always stop to observe 
the soldiers in foreign parts, for there is no 
telling how soon they may be holding a 
prominent place in our affairs. Entering the 
castle through an arched gateway, we hunted 
up a guide and were shown through the 
rooms that formerly were used by the royal 
family. There was nothing remarkable in 
them except some fine old fire-places. Hang- 
ing on the walls of the various rooms were a 
number of paintings and, although the guide 
mumbled the names of several great artists, 
they impressed me as being a lot of poor 
copies. In the chapel there was some elab- 
orate old wood carving, but even that did 
not look as though it was first-class work. 
We were then led across the court to a small 
door and told we could enter and ascend to 
the roof of the large, square tower, but our 
guide was too lazy to follow us. From the 
flat roof of the tower we had a fine view of 
the Sound and the Swedish coast opposite. 
After enjoying the view for a while, we de- 
scended and as^ain sought our guide, for we 
wished to go down Into the casements, where. 



136 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

according to tradition, Holger Danske slum- 
bers. In consideration of a second fee, our 
guide consented, so we went down into the 
subterranean depths. Holger Danske is sup- 
posed to be seated by a stone table around 
the base of which his beard has grown. 
When Denmark needs his aid to free her 
from the conqueror, he will come to life, 
but that will not take place, according to 
the legend, until his beard has thrice en- 
circled the table, and, according to the best 
authority, it has so far only grown two and 
a half times around the stone pedestal. It 
was a gloomy place to which we descended 
and when we saw a huge, white plaster 
statue of the champion, faintly gleaming 
ahead in the flickering light of the candle 
carried by our guide, we almost had the 
creeps. Speaking of ghosts reminds me, 
they would not allow us to visit the Flag 
Battery, which is on the "Platform before 
the Castle of Elsinore," where Shakespeare 
makes the ghost in Hamlet walk; they were 
probably afraid of German spies. "Alas, 
poor ghost." As there was nothing more 
to see, we went to the hotel for lunch. Af- 
ter our meal, not caring to visit Hamlet's 
grave ( ?), we walked along the main street 
of the town until we came to a little park, 




u 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 137 

where we sat in the shade of some fine old 
trees and watched the little "Hamlets" and 
^'Ophelias'* at their play. As the day was 
rather hot, it was with regret that we left 
our shady retreat and returned to the sta- 
tion to take the express train back to Copen- 
hagen. Helsingor, although small, seems to 
be quite a busy place. The harbor is good 
and there is a ferry over to Sweden. It was 
here, where the Sound is but little more than 
two miles wide, that Denmark formerly col- 
lected a tax on all ships bound to or from 
the Baltic. 

Saturday, September 6. 

The State Art Museum, which we visited 
this morning, contains a large collection of 
pictures by Danish and foreign artists. Sad 
to relate, the paintings by Danish artists, 
while quite as numerous, do not equal in 
quality the pictures by Swedish artists, shown 
in the Stockholm gallery. The modern 
French painters, usually so much in evidence, 
are conspicuous by their absence but, to make 
amends, the Dutch school is well repre- 
sented. One of the finest pictures in the 
collection is Rembrandt's "Christ at Em- 
maus," a strikingly fine religious work. Then 
there is a portrait of Matthew Irselius, Ab- 



138 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

bot of St. Michael's at Antwerp, by Rubens 
that is wonderful, but taken as a whole the 
collection is rather disappointing. In the 
afternoon we visited the National Museum 
in the Prindsens-Palais. The "Prehistoric 
Collection" is probably the finest of the kind 
in Europe. In Room I. are shown the earli- 
est rude tools and weapons of bone and flint 
from the shell mounds or "refuse heaps" of 
the first settlers of Denmark, which are 
found along the seashore and probably date 
back as much as three thousand years before 
Christ. In these shell mounds skeletons of 
human beings, adults, and children, have been 
found, but the bones of the dog are the only 
remains of domestic animals discovered. 
However, the bones of many wild animals 
have been found and among them the skele- 
ton of an auroch, here shown, in two of the 
ribs of which are embedded flint arrow- 
heads. From these indications we may as- 
sume that the first inhabitants were hunt- 
ers and fishermen who dwelt along the sea 
coast. In Rooms II. and III. are imple- 
ments of the later Stone Age. These tools 
are found in graves scattered through the 
interior of the country and are of better 
workmanship than the crude weapons found 
in the shell heaps. Many are finely executed 




Danish Farm 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 139 

and of elegant shape. Among other things 
shown Is a sickle for cutting grain, with the 
flint blade still firmly set in the well-pre- 
served wooden handle. This would lead us 
to believe that the men of that age had 
turned towards agriculture, and in confirma- 
tion there is shown a number of potsherds of 
that period with impressions, made while 
the clay was yet soft, of grain, wheat, bar- 
ley, and millet, that still show on the hard, 
baked outer surfaces. With the Bronze Age 
the people became more civilized, and in 
Room IV. is shown a male and female figure, 
wearing clothing, weapons and ornaments 
that are copies of actual originals of this 
period, that were found in the rude coffins 
that they made by hollowing out the trunks 
of oak trees. Probably the most remarkable 
objects found, that belong to the Bronze 
Age, are the large brass trumpets called 
"lures," which are usually found in peat- 
bogs, generally in pairs, and which can often 
even now be used as musical instruments. 
When found in pairs, they are tuned to the 
same note, and were probably used together. 
In Rooms V. and VI. are objects of the Iron 
Age, which in Denmark began about five 
hundred years before Christ. Along with 
weapons and tools of this age, made of Iron, 



140 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

are shown eating and drinking utensils of 
earthenware and glass, coins and jewelry of 
Roman make, and various objects which show 
that commerce and trade had gained a foot- 
hold among the people, who at that time in- 
habited Denmark. In still other rooms are 
shown the arts and crafts of the Middle 
Ages and even later times, but these objects, 
the products of civilized men, did not inter- 
est us so much. 

Sunday, September, 7. 

We went to Mass at the Jesuit Church. 
Then I had to make a trip down to Cook's 
to get some tickets that the manager had 
promised to have ready for me by noon to- 
day. After lunch the boys and I went to the 
arsenal to see the collection of old armor. 
They have a fine collection of artillery and 
some small arms, especially wheelocks and 
old swords, but of body armor there is not 
much that is really worth looking at. How- 
ever, there was one fine suit of Maximillian 
fluted armor and a very handsome one of 
plate, decorated in a design of thistles, which 
may have been of Scottish or English ori- 
gin. 

Monday, September 8. 
It is a beautiful day. We spent the morn- 




A Herring Boat 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 141 

ing in farewell visits to places of interest, 
and after lunch took the train for Kiel. 
That is, the train went as far as Korsor, a 
little town on the south end of the Island of 
Zealand, and from there we took a boat 
for the rest of the way. The accommoda- 
tions for handling baggage at the Central 
Station in Copenhagen do not seem to be 
first class. Our trunks were brought to the 
main entrance of the station and dumped 
on the platform. Then they had to be car- 
ried through the waiting room by porters 
to the luggage counter, where they were 
weighed and checked. After leaving the 
city, the country through which we passed 
was flat but seemed to be good farming land 
and the estates were of fair size, with well- 
constructed buildings, most of them crowded 
around a court ; dwelling, barns, stables, a 
windmill, and some sheds, handy but not very 
sanitary. The only town of any importance 
through which we passed was Roskilde, 
where there is a large cathedral in which the 
Danish kings are buried. Our steamer 
passed along the coast of a low-lying island, 
crossed the Belt and finally, after dark, en- 
tered the busy harbor of Kiel. We landed 
quite near the Hansa Hotel and, after hand- 
ing over our luggage to the porter, walked 



142 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

across and secured rooms. As it was late, 
we had only time to partake of some light 
refreshments before going to bed. 

Tuesday, September 9. 
The first thing I did this morning was to 
hunt up my banker. That gentleman, after 
supplying me with the required German 
money, cross-questioned me in the most ap- 
proved Prussian manner and very politely 
told me what I should see in Kiel. Instead 
of following his advice, we went to the 
Thaulow Museum and saw some wonderful 
old Schleswig-Holstein wood-carving. In 
the afternoon Maud, Marian, Raphael and 
I walked up to the palace, formerly the resi- 
dence of the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp, and 
now occupied by Prince Henry of Prussia. 
Passing through the Schloss-Garten, we took 
a tram-car for a ride out to a place called 
Bellevue, where we hoped to get a look at 
the German War Fleet, but not a battle ship 
was in sight, so we walked back along the 
harbor-side road. We saw a number of 
beautiful villas and the Imperial Yacht Club 
House. Many of the places displayed "For 
Sale" cards; there was not much going on 
in the harbor and the great ship building 
works at Krupp's Germania Wharf seemed 




^ 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 143 

to be idle. In fact the whole place looked 
like an American boomed town shortly after 
the boom had collapsed. 

Wednesday, September lO. 

After breakfast we took a train for Lu- 
beck, the smallest of the three independent 
Hanseatic towns of the German Empire. 
Our trip, which was quite brief, was through 
Holstein, and a very fine country it appears 
to be. The land is flat with a few low hills 
and many broad lakes that today were cov- 
ered with numerous water fowls. In the 
fields were herds of the fine black and white 
cattle for which the country is famous. 
Many of the large, brick farm houses are 
thatched with straw, which gives them a 
very picturesque appearance, but I regret to 
have to say that the barn, stable and dwell- 
ing seemed in most cases to be under one 
roof. We arrived at Lubeck quite a bit be- 
fore noon, so, after securng rooms at the 
Stadt-Hamburg Hotel, we went to see the 
Cathedral. It is a fine, brick Gothic church 
and contains a famous painting, Memllng's 
double Triptych, which was specially or- 
dered from the artist In 1498 for an altar- 
piece In this church and has remained here 
ever since. After showing us various works 



144 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

of art scattered about the church, the cus- 
todian led us into a side chapel and, pulling 
aside a curtain, we saw the exterior shutters 
of the triptych, which represents, in grisaill 
work, the Annunciation. Then he opened 
these shutters and on the inner doors were 
painted life size figures of Saints Blasius, 
John the Baptist, Jerome, and iEgidius, the 
last, patron-saint of the donor. Canon 
Adolf Greverade. These saints, with their 
wonderful coloring, are masterpieces. We 
waited, breathless, while these doors were 
opened to show us the inner picture. It repre- 
sents scenes from the Passion with a Cruci- 
fixion in the center. A kneeling figure in the 
left-hand corner is pointed out as a portrait 
of the donor. While these scenes are well 
painted, their number and small size has the 
effect of an anti-climax. 

After dinner, for here the principal meal 
is at noon, we went to visit the church of St. 
Mary's, which owes its origin in 1251 to the 
ambition of the citizens to have their princi- 
pal parish church larger than the Cathedral 
of the bishop. The plan is as near like a 
French Gothic cathedral as it is possible 
to build in brick, even to brick fluted 
columns and brick traceries in the windows. 
Of course, the builders did not adhere strictly 




ft, 



ffi 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 145 

to common rectangular forms, and it is won- 
derful to see what effects they obtained by 
the skilful use of a few varieties of specially 
molded bricks. After we had rather hastily 
examined the church, we walked past the 
Schiffer-Gesellschaft, a handsome, old guild 
hall of the "Ancient Mariners" of Lubeck, 
and paused for a while to admire the an- 
tique, many gabled, and turreted fagade of 
the Hospital zum Heiligen Geist, an admir- 
ably organized alms-house, dating from 
1286. From this ancient institution we went 
out to the Burg-Tor, the north gate in the 
old town wall, a lofty, brick structure of 
1444. It was near this gate that the Battle 
of Lubeck took place on November 6, 1 806, 
between Bliicher, with the wreck of the Prus- 
sian army after the battle of Jena, and the 
pursuing French under Bernadotte, Soult, 
and Murat. 

Thursday, September ii. 
Of course, as Lubeck is an independent 
town, the Rathaus has always held an im- 
portant place in its history. We spent this 
morning there and found the old house very 
interesting. The building occupies the north 
east corner of the Market Place, is built of 
brick in the Gothic style, with huge gables 



146 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

and quaint spires, and, in part, dates from 
the thirteenth century. We entered by the 
main portal, which is not on the side towards 
the market but on the busy street that skirts 
the square on the east. First we visited the 
"Senate Room", rebuilt in the rococo style 
in 1754-60 and decorated with allegorical 
paintings by Torelli of Bologna. The door 
to this room dates from 1573 and has an in- 
scription on it in "Low Dutch" that we no- 
ticed the guide had to translate for the Ger- 
man sight seers that happened to be along 
with our party. The inscription was in Ro- 
man text and many of the words looked 
quite English, but along with them were 
enough that were so strange to us as to 
make it all unintelligible. After leaving this 
room, we ascended a noble stairway, that 
had the walls of its landing adorned with a 
modern mural painting by Koch, represent- 
ing "Henry the Lion receiving the homage 
of Lubeck." Whether the painting was in- 
tended to convey a lesson of loyalty to the 
present Empire, or to remind the citizens 
that soon after the event depicted they 
gained their liberty and had only recently 
lost it under another Empire, was not evi- 
dent, and for good and sufficient reasons I 
did not seek enlightenment. At the head of 




LuBECK Cathedral 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 147 

the stairs is the Burgerschafts-Saal, a very 
modern room also adorned with paintings 
by Koch. From there we went to the 
Kriegsstube, the ancient "War Chamber," 
with its beautiful carved and inlaid panels 
and a fine old sand stone mantle with ala- 
baster reliefs. Underneath the old building 
IS the Ratswelnkellerj with its remarkable 
Gothic and late Romanesque vaultings and 
columns. In one of the rooms is a *' Chimney 
Piece" which bears an inscription of 1575 in 
"Low Dutch" which, to say the least, is not 
very gallant. It may be translated, "Many 
a man sings loudly when they bring him his 
bride; if he knew what they brought him, 
he might well weep." A very low (Dutch) 
remark about women. A little before noon 
we took the train for Hamburg, where we 
arrived in time to have lunch at the Ham- 
burger Hof. Our hotel fronts on the busy 
Jungfernstleg and across the way is the 
Binnen-Alster, a pretty lagoon of about forty 
acres, bounded on three sides by quays, well 
planted with trees and flanked with palatial 
hotels, business houses, and fine, private 
dwellings; while on the north side there is 
a causeway laid out as a promenade that 
separates this little sheet of water from a 



148 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

larger lake called the Aussen-Alster. This 
we noticed while taking our first walk about 
the city this afternoon. 

Friday, September 12. 
This morning we went for a trip about 
the harbor. Of course the boat ride started 
on the River Elbe, but soon we turned into a 
side channel and, after passing through a 
series of flood gates or locks, entered a large 
basin that probably belonged to the Ham- 
burg-American Steamship Co. First, we 
saw the big sister-ship to the "Imperator" 
that is still building. I think they intend to 
call it the "Fatherland." As it has no bal- 
last aboard, it stood very high above the 
water; in fact, all the propeller shafts were 
above the surface. In another part of the 
basin we passed the "President Grant" and 
the "Pratoria," two of the slower boats be- 
longing to the company. Then our boat 
went alongside another large steamer whose 
name I did not learn and those who wished 
to see the interior were allowed to go 
aboard. As there was nothing novel for us 
about the interior of a ship, we remained ' 
where we were and returned with the boat 
to the landing. Then, as we still had plenty 
of time before lunch, we went to the Art 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 149 

Museum or as it is called here, the "Kuns- 
thalle," which contains over a thousand 
paintings, among them a number by British 
artists, but what interested me most were 
three portraits by F. Lembach, of Count 
Moltke, Prince Bismarck, and Emperor 
William I. ; the triumvirate that made Prus- 
sia the ruling force in the **German Em- 
pire." Well, I shall make no remarks about 
them, for I might hurt someone's feelings, 
probably my own, if there was a German 
with a beer mug about. After lunch we went 
out to Carl Hagenback's Zoological Park, 
to see the animals, which are mostly kept in 
large enclosures, fitted up as nearly as pos- 
sible like their native habitat. Thus the goat 
family have a craggy hill to climb over, in- 
side their fence; the lions are enclosed in a 
rocky den with fallen tree trunks to lie upon, 
and the monkeys have a rocky ledge to sit 
on and trees to climb, but all the dangerous 
animals are so guarded by sunken pits that 
it is impossible for them to escape. The 
most interesting animal was a trained wal- 
rus, that really had a head almost as round 
and expressive as that of his keeper. This 
animal's greatest accomplishment was blow- 
ing a horn, and when he got the mouthpiece 
between his lips, with his bristly mustache 



150 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

and pale, blue eyes, he looked very much 
like the stout leader of a Little German 
Band. 

Saturday, September 13. 

Went to see the Bismarck Monument, a 
big, coarse affair, that very fittingly personi- 
fies "Kultur" and encumbers the place of 
honor in a pretty, little park over in the 
western part of the city. Got back just in 
time to catch the train for Hanover. Right 
here our journey should have ended by our 
taking a steamer home, for we have quit the 
Northland, but as we did not and kept on, I 
shall continue to tell briefly about the rest of 
our trip. It did not take long to reach Han- 
over and we secured pleasant rooms at the 
Bristol Hotel, which is just across the square 
in front of the station. After lunch we went 
out for a walk. There are many quaint old 
houses in the town. We visted the theatre, 
the Museum, the Royal Palace, the Rathaus, 
old and new, and several interesting churches. 
The number of soldiers in the town is no- 
ticeable. I was told there is a garrison of 
16,000 here. This kingdom was annexed by 
Prussia in 1866, but it looks as though the 
subjection was not yet complete. 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 151 

Sunday, September 14. 
Went to Mass at an ancient church that is 
over on the older part of the town. There 
is a fine, large Catholic Church up in the 
newer quarters, where Dr. Windthorst, long 
leader of the "Centrum'' party in the Ger- 
man Reichstag, is buried. On the way back 
from church we passed the house in which 
Leibnitz lived. He seems to be the popular 
hero of the place. In the afternoon we went 
to the park in which the New Rathaus is 
located. It is quite a pretty piece of level 
ground, with several ornamental ponds that 
add to its attractiveness. 

Monday, September 15. 

Took a drive about the city, saw most of 
the fine residences, and went through a very 
neat, well conducted ''cracker bakery", where 
a lot of pretty, young girls were busy putting 
the biscuits into cartons. Then we went 
out to Herrenhausen, past the Welfenschloss 
or Palace of the Guelphs, a handsome build- 
ing, that, now the Guelphs are out and the 
Hohenzollerns are in, is used for a Poly- 
technic School. Schloss Herrenhausen is at 
the end of a beautiful avenue of limes, one 
and a quarter miles long and one hundred 
and twenty yards wide, that was laid out in 



152 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

1726. The Schloss was built in 1698 and 
was the favorite residence of George I., and 
George IL, of England and Hanover. Not 
being allowed to enter, we walked through 
the gardens, which are quite extensive. They 
are laid out in the French style and have 
an open air garden theatre as one of 
their attractions. We were allowed to 
visit the coach house and saw some hand- 
some carriages and harness, but all the fam- 
ous Brunswick horses are gone. Then we 
went across to the big palm houses where 
we saw cocoa-nut palms, over thirty meters 
high. After lunch, we took the train to 
Hildesheim. When we had secured rooms j 
at the hotel, we walked up the main street > 
to the "Square of the Lilly," on which fronts 
the Rathaus. In this square stands the 
Rolandbrunn, erected in 1540, with high 
basin-walls on the six faces of which are 
sculptured panels of heroes. From the cen- 
ter of the basin rises an ornamented pillar, 
that is surmounted by a small figure of Rol- 
and, clad in armor with a spear and shield. 
The Butcher's Guild Hall, built before 1529, 
which faces on this square, is said to be the 
most beautiful frame house of Germany. 
The doorway, window frames, brackets, and 
transverse beams are covered with carvings 



i 





ai, 









!?fK^^:/-.' 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 153 

of great beauty and masterly technique, 
while between the windows are panels with 
figures carved in high relief, that as the 
darkey said, '*are of the early reminiscence 
style, sir.'* On the right hand side of the 
square, when facing the Rathaus, are two 
noticeable houses. The Wedekind House, 
dating from 1598, with carvings of figures 
representing the virtues and sciences, and 
the Tempelhaus, a Gothic building, dating 
from the fourteenth century, with pictur- 
esque but useless turrets at the corners, and 
a richly ornamented oriel window that dates 
from 1 59 1. The Town-hall is the work of 
several centuries, the earliest part dates 
from 1290, while the frame-work tower at 
the north corner was only finished in the 
sixteenth century. The walls of the large 
hall on the second floor are adorned with 
frescoes representing events in the history 
of the town. One of the frescoes depicts 
*'The Virgin Mary Appearing to King Louis 
the Pious, amidst a rose bush and drawing 
the plans of the Cathedral In the snow on 
the lawn at her feet." This picture greatly 
excited the risabllity of some of my fellow 
countrymen who happened to be looking at 
It while I was there, yet the event is probably 
quite as well authenticated as the one repre- 



154 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

sented in a nearby picture, "Herman the 
Cherusker handing the captured Roman 
silver treasures over to the priests on Gal- 
genberg in the year B. C. 9," which my com- 
patriots swallowed without question. After 
a hasty glance at these pictures and the beau- 
tiful painted ceiling, we hastened on to the 
Cathedral, for we wanted to see the cele- 
brated bronze doors, the wonderful Easter 
column and the famous rose bush. The so- 
called "Paradise Doors" were cast by 
Bishop Bernward in 1015. They are 
adorned with sixteen reliefs representing the 
Fall of Man and the Redemption. Begin- 
ning at the top of the left-hand door, the 
subjects represented are, "The Creation of 
Man," "God Presenting Eve to Adam," 
"The First Sin," "Adam and Eve driven 
from Paradise," etc., around through "The 
Crucifixion," "The Women at the Tomb," 
to the final "Nole me tangere," at the upper 
right-hand corner. The Easter Column 
probably was intended for the shaft of a 
mammoth "Pascal Candlestick." It was 
made in 1022 by Bishop Bernward, who 
undoubtedly took the idea from Trajan's 
Column at Rome. The reliefs, which begin 
at the base of the column, ascend in a spiral 
and represent scenes from the life of Christ. 







HiLDESHEIM 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 155 

Of course I do not pretend to be a judge, 
but it is my humble opinion that the pictures 
on the column are far better in design than 
the panels of the doors. In a side chapel 
there is a brazen baptismal font of the thir- 
teenth century that is well worth examining, 
and the immense chandelier presented to 
the church by Bishop Hezilo (d. 1079) 
is also worthy of notice. It is in the form 
of a circular wall, with twelve towers and 
twelve portals, and has an inscription ex- 
plaining that it is intended to represent the 
Heavenly Jerusalem. We gazed at it, 
while a stout priest delivered a lecture in 
High Dutch, not a word of which could we 
understand, and when he paused for breath, 
by means of some English, Latin and "Low 
Dutch," we managed to make him under- 
stand that we would like to see the "Alt 
rose arbor." He unlocked a door and let 
us into the famous cloister, with its double 
arcade, built in 1070, and from there we got 
our first glimpse of the "Thousand-year 
Rosetree." The old rose bush, which, even 
this late in the season, still had a few flow- 
ers on it, twines around the asp of the choir. 
Only the roots, which are hidden under the 
High- Altar of the crypt, are old; the most 
aged shoot now alive dates from 1789. The 



156 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

Hildesheim historian, George Elbers, first 
mentions the rose-tree in about the year 
1640, and at that time estimates its age at 
"several centuries," so even if it is not a 
thousand years old, it has been there for a 
long time. 

Tuesday, September 16. 
The morning being pleasant, we walked 
up to St. Mary Magdalen's Church, founded 
by Bishop Konrad II., in 1234. It is off to 
one side, in a lonely corner, far from the 
busy part of the town, but in it are preserved 
some remarkable art treasures. The most 
important is Bishop Bernward's Cross, 
which dates from 994, and two candlesticks 
which were found in his tomb. The cross 
was made by the good bishop to hold a splin- 
ter of the True Cross. It is exquisite in 
workmanship and is ornamented with two 
hundred and thirty jewels, among which are 
several antique cameos representing myth- 
ological subjects. On the back is engraved 
a Crucifix and emblems of the four Evan- 
gelists. The candlesticks were made in St. 
Bernward's workshop of a mixture of gold, 
silver, and iron. A medley of men, animals 
and plants wind about a slender shaft, which 
rests on three claws. The meaning, prob- 




^*=^^3«m 






'k/ Jt^- 










The 1000 Year Rose-tree 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 157 

ably, is that every thing is struggling to- 
wards the light, "symbolic of Christ the 
light of the world." The Latin inscription 
on one, as near as I could make out, reads, 
"Bernward made this candelabre, first child 
of his skill to flower, not as gold, not as 
silver, but that thou should discern the strug- 
gle." There are many other objects of in- 
terest in this little church. We noticed 
especially two bronze candlesticks of the 
thirteenth century, a large, early Gothic Pas- 
cal candlestick, a beautiful Gothic Chalice 
dating from 1500, and a silver reliquary 
containing the bones of the saint. From St. 
Mary Magdalen's, we went to the Crypt 
below St. Michael's Church to see the stone 
sarcophagus of St. Bernward, and, after- 
wards, up into the church itself to see the 
wonderful painted ceiling. It dates from 
the twelfth century and represents the gene- 
alogy of Christ. In the afternoon we took 
a train for Brunswick, and, on arriving there, 
spent the time until dinner in walking about 
the streets looking for old buildings. Among 
others we saw the Altstadt-Rathaus, a fine, 
old Gothic edifice, with a two story, open 
arcade, on the pillars of which are statues 
of Saxon princes. 



158 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

Wednesday, September 17. 
Went to see the Ducal Museum, which, in 
addition to the Picture Gallery, contains an 
interesting collection of antiquities and a 
fine ceramic collection. Among the pic- 
tures the Dutch School is especially well 
represented, but there are also works by 
Italian and French masters. From the win- 
dow of my room in the hotel. I have a fine 
view of the Burg-Platz, in the center of 
which, on a modern pedestal, stands an an- 
cient, bronze lion, that was erected here in 
1 166, by Henry the Lion, as a symbol of his 
supremacy. On the other side of the square 
is the Cathedral. It was begun in 1173 in 
the Romanesque style by Henry the Lion, 
after his return from the Holy Land, and 
has been added to in the latest style of each 
century since. In it are the monument of 
the founder and his consort Matilda, who 
was a daughter of Henry II., of England, 
and the sister of Richard Coeur de Lion. 
In the Crypt are buried the Dukes of Bruns- 
wick. I asked the elderly dame who acted 
as our guide to point out the coffin of 
"Schwarz Brunswick" which she did, and 
It seemed to please her greatly that I should 
ask, for, while hitherto she had been quite 
curt, after that she was most gracious in 




Cathedral, Brunswick 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 159 

showing US about. Although It was raining 
when we got through with the Cathedral, I 
managed to visit several shops and found 
that the people were well pleased that their 
"Duke" was coming back to live with them. 
The Duke has recently married the Kaiser's 
only daughter, and papa has very generously 
given them a little wedding present by re- 
storing to hubby a part of the property 
stolen by his ancestors from an ancestor of 
the new son-in-law. 

Thursday, September i8. 
On to Berlin I The country through which 
the railway passes is flat but looks like fairly 
good farming land. There are many lakes 
scattered about, so it looks a good deal like 
southern Minnesota. The towns through 
which we passed were Magdeburg and Pots- 
dam. On arriving in Berlin, we took a cou- 
ple of taxi-cabs and, passing under the Bran- 
denburg Gate, went by way of Unter den 
Linden to our hotel. 

Friday, September 19. 

Took a walk about the town. Berlin is 

a very handsome city and looks prosperous. 

The business blocks are substantial, most of 

them built of stone, five or six stories high. 



160 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

while the streets are wide and well paved. 
Up in the neighborhood of the Royal Pal- 
ace, where most of the fine public buildings 
are grouped, the general effect is quite equal 
to anything they have in Paris, but somehow 
it has a **nouveau riche'* look about it. 

Saturday, September 20. 

This morning we went to the Art Museum 
to see the Hildesheim Silver Treasure, a 
famous collection of Roman plate, that dates 
from the time of Augustus Caesar. It was 
discovered in 1868 near the foot of Galgen- 
berg at Hildesheim. As it did not take long 
to look over these relics of the past, we went 
on to the National Gallery, which contains 
a large collection of modern paintings, 
mostly by German Artists. In the afternoon 
we went to the Emperor Frederick Museum, 
which contains pictures by Old Masters of 
the German, Italian, French and Spanish 
schools. While I was in one of the cabinets 
looking at some Dutch pieces, I heard a buz- 
zing noise and on looking out of the window, 
saw a large Zeppelin Airship passing over 
the building. 

Sunday, September 21. 

Went to Mass this morning at St. Hed- 
wig's Catholic Church, which I am told was 





pq 





A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 161 

erected by that hardened, old infidel, Fred- 
erick the Great, in 1747-73. In the after- 
noon the boys and I went to the Arsenal, 
where we saw some fine old armor. After 
returning to the hotel, I happened to look 
out of the window of my room and saw a 
Zeppelin away over in the direction of Pots- 
dam. After watching it a minute, I saw it 
was coming in our direction, so I called the 
family to the window and Raphael got a 
photograph of it when passing quite near. 
In a few minutes it returned, going back the 
way it had come. The wind was light from 
the west, however, the balloon seemed to 
make but slow progress beating against it. 
At best the "Zeppelin" is a big, clumsy af- 
fair and, considering the cost, I do not see 
how they can be of much use in a war. They 
are far too slow in their movements and too 
much at the mercy of the wind. I noticed 
the following advertisement in a paper this 
morning : 
"Passenger Trips by the Zeppelin Airship 
"HANSA" 
from the airship-sheds at BERLIN- 
POTSDAM. 
The fare of the regular trips extend- 
ing over 100 kms., and lasting about 2 
hours will be M. 200.- — 



162 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

General information can be had at the 

office Hamburg-Amerika Linie, 

Unter den Linden 8, 

Berlin, W. S." 
The one we saw today was not the 
"Hansa", if I could make out the name cor- 
rectly, but the "Sachsen,'* so they probably 
have several. 

Monday, September 22. 

Spent the day in hunting up various things 
I wanted to see before we leave Berlin. In 
the evening Charles and I went to the Ice 
Palace and saw some good skating by a 
troop of professionals. One of the lady 
performers, named Charlotte, was very 
graceful and with her partner did some won- 
derful stunts. 

Tuesday, September 23. 
Took the train for Dresden. The land 
about Berlin is quite flat but seems fertile. 
The fields are large and appear to be mostly 
planted to potatoes. There is considerable 
timber bordering the roads and along the 
lines that divide the fields. Where ever 
there is a sandy patch of ground or a ridge 
that cannot be cultivated, it is planted with 
trees and they are generally evergreens. 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 163 

Just before reaching Dresden, we came to 
a bluff and descended into the valley of the 
Elbe River, which is thickly settled. We got 
poor rooms at a rather good hotel and were 
charged "Grand Opera" prices for the same. 

Wednesday, September 24. 
Bright and early we went to the picture 
gallery to see the famous Sistine Madonna 
by Raphael and other renowned paintings. 
The Madonna has a room to itself and is 
hung against dark maroon colored draperies 
that help to light up the picture by contrast. 
While we were in the room, it was filled 
with a number of enraptured females who 
occupied all the seats available, so we stood 
for a few minutes afar off and then went 
to look at less popular paintings. After 
dinner, this evening, we went across the 
street to the Royal Opera House and saw 
the "Jewels of the Madonna," which has 
no connection whatever with the "Sistine 
Madonna." The opera was given by the 
Royal Troup, and the acting was solemn 
and heavy but the music was good. The 
Opera House is a very handsome building 
with fine foyers and a grand auditorium. 
The audience was well dressed and looked 
very respectable. Quite a number of the 



164 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

women, It was evident, were from America, 
and they were by far the best looking of 
those present. 

Thursday, September 25. 
At the Johanneum there is a wonderful 
collection of arms and armor. The most 
interesting part of it is the display of Tilt- 
ing Armor that formerly belonged to Saxon 
Princes and nobles of the sixteenth century, 
but the collection of wheel-lock pistols 
should not be overlooked as it is probably 
the finest in existence. In the afternoon, I 
went back to the Art Museum to look up 
the eighteenth century paintings of the 
French School. There are some very good 
Watteau's and several of Lancret's gay lit- 
tle canvases, but nothing extraordinary. 

Friday, September 26. 

We are on the train bound for Prague. 
Soon after leaving Dresden the valley of 
the Elbe contracts and becomes a rocky gorge 
or canon and the scenery, as a consequence, 
is quite interesting. Large quantities of 
building stone for use in Dresden have been 
quarried from the cliffs along the river, but 
most of it was taken so long ago, that kind 
Mother Nature has done much to hide the 




w 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 165 

scars With a mantle of verdure. On enter- 
ing Bohemia, the valley widens out into a 
tableland and there are extensive farms on 
both sides of the road that are mostly 
planted to sugar-beets, but occasionally we 
pass a field that is devoted to the cultivation 
of hops. In some of the beet fields the peas- 
ants were at work and several times in the 
same field, but at some distance away, we 
saw a group of deer feeding; however, they 
were always does and fawns that were prob- 
ably protected by law from being harmed. 
The one or two bucks, we saw, were in fields 
where no one was about and seemed quite 
wild. We arrived in Prague along towards 
the middle of the afternoon and, soon after 
reaching the hotel, Maud, Marian and I 
fared forth on adventure bent. The Powder 
Tower, one of the ancient gates of the old 
walled city, stands across the street from our 
hotel. It is a quaint, old Gothic structure 
and after admiring it a while, we passed be- 
neath its arches and walked down a street 
that leads to the Old Town Square, in the 
center of which rises a Column of the Vir- 
gin, erected in 1650, to commemorate the 
liberation of Prague from the Swedes in 
1648. On the west side of the square is the 
Old Town Hall and, looking back from in 



166 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

front of it, we had a ^ne view of the Tyn 
Church with its two pointed towers, each 
crowned by four graceful turrets. From the 
square we went on down to the River Mol- 
dau and from one of the bridges had a fine 
view of the Cathedral and Royal Palace, 
that crown the heights above the opposite 
bank. Returning, we visited an ancient 
Synagogue that was interesting but grimy. 
It is noticeable here, that many of the horses 
have their tails docked and that often a 
single horse is hitched to one side of a pole, 
in spite of which lop sided arrangement, he 
seems to be able to draw the wagon in as 
straight a course as though he were hitched 
between a pair of shafts, as in America. 
Horses have not yet been extensively dis- 
placed by automobiles in Prague, in fact, 
"machines" seem rather scarce here. 

Saturday, September 27. 
Went to the Art Gallery this morning to 
see what "Bohemian Art" is like. Most of 
the paintings by native artists are more dra- 
matic than picturesque. Evidently the Bo- 
hemian Artists paint to tell a story and use 
strong, vivid colors in preference to delicate 
tints. After lunch, for the sake of variety, 
we took a carriage, not an autonobile, and 




Teynkirche, Prague 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 167 

went across the Charles' Bridge to the "lit- 
tle town" as it is called, for we wanted a 
nearer view of the Cathedral of St. Vitus 
and the Royal Palace. However, before vis- 
iting the principal points of interest, being 
in the hands of our driver, we had to make 
various side trips. First we stopped to see 
a Baroque Palace, that we were told had 
formerly belonged to the Knights of Malta, 
where we were led to believe there were a 
number of things worth seeing, but the only 
exhibit here that really interested me was 
a collection of over five hundred pairs of 
antlers from the heads of stags killed by 
the owner of the palace. From this trophy 
house we went up to the top of the hill 
where stands the Church of Loretto, in the 
court of which is an imitation of the cele- 
brated Casa Santa, but as I have never seen 
the original, I cannot say how accurate the 
copy may be. The treasury of this church 
contains several rich monstrances of the sev- 
enteenth century, the most curious one was 
in the form of a star, the rays of which 
are said to be set with 6580 diamonds. The 
story told to us was that all these precious 
stones were from the wedding dress of a 
lady whose portrait hung against the nearby 
wall, but if the lady looked as sour as the 



168 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

portrait, she needed all the jewels to make 
her attractive. Returning a bit, we passed 
through the Hradcany Square, in the middle 
of which there Is another Column of the Vir- 
gin, erected in 1725, but what event it com- 
memorates I could not ascertain; possibly 
they have a liking here for columns just as 
in Washington they have a craze for tin 
horses. The Royal Palace is an immense 
group of buildings, containing over seven 
hundred rooms. We did not have time to 
explore it, but drove through the three 
courts, only pausing to look up at the win- 
dow from which the Governors were 
thrown. May 23, 1618, when some of the 
Bohemian objected to being governed. 

The Gothic Church of St. Vitus may not 
be perfect in architecture, but, owing to its 
dominating location, it is very picturesque 
and certainly it contains much that is inter- 
esting. The Chapel of St. Wenceslaus is a 
wonderful shrine that is sacred to thousands 
of Bohemians, and, as this happens to be the 
feastday of the saint, there were several 
thousand pilgrims crowded within its nar- 
row confines this afternoon, so we did not 
see it with comfort. Other interesting sights 
in the Cathedral are the Royal Mausoleum, 
on the flat top of which are the figures of 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 169 

Ferdinand I., his consort Ann, and the Em- 
peror Maximilian II., who are buried be- 
neath, together with Charles IV., Wences- 
laus IV., Ladislaus Posthumus, George Po- 
diebrad, Rudolph II., and several queens 
and princesses. Near by in the choir is the 
silver shrine of St. John of Nepomuc. Re- 
turning from the Cathedral, we passed the 
huge Waldstein Palace, erected in 1623-30 
for Albrecht von Wallenstein, the famous 
general of the Thirty Year War, and still 
in possession of the family. We recrossed 
the Charles' Bridge, the buttresses of which 
are adorned with a bronze Crucifix and 
twenty-eight groups of statues of saints. In 
the middle of the bridge is the bronze statue 
of St. John Nepomuc, the patron saint of 
Bohemia. A marble slab with a cross on 
the right parapet of the bridge, between the 
sixth and seventh pillars, marks the spot 
where the saint is said to have been flung 
from the bridge, in 1383, by order of 
Wenceslaus IV., for refusing to betray what 
the empress had confided to him in the con- 
fessional. 

Sunday, September 28. 
Went to the Tyn Church first, this morn- 
ing, and spent some time, while waiting for 



170 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

the service to begin, in gazing at the tomb of 
Tycho Brahe, which happened to be near 
the pew where I was seated. Although 
Tycho's fame rests on his being an astrono- 
mer, he is represented on his tomb as "a 
warrior bold" all clad in armor. As there 
seemed to be no indications that religious 
services were to take place there in the near 
future, and, as I was unable to make inquir- 
ies, owing to my lack of knowledge of the 
Bohemian tongue, I sallied forth to find an- 
other church where they were holding ser- 
vices. After walking some distance, I came 
to a small chapel where Mass had just be- 
gun, so I entered and squeezed into a pew 
near the door. When I awoke after a re- 
freshing nap this afternoon, not at the 
church but in the room at the hotel, my fam- 
ily had entirely disappeared, so, alone, I 
walked to a hill on the other side of the 
river, where there is a tall view tower. En- 
tering an elevator, in company with several 
good natured matrons and a parcel of chil- 
dren, we ascended to a platform from which 
there was a magnificent view of the city 
as well as a large part of Bohemia. The 
silvery Moldau winds through the town like 
an inverted S and is crossed by eight or nine 
bridges. Below were countless palaces and 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 171 

churches, and near at hand was a large frag- 
ment of the old town wall that has not yet 
been levelled, while all around, were the 
green fields and purple hills of Bohemia. 
Somewhere in the neighborhood took place 
the famous ''Battle of Prague", that some 
thirty years ago we so often used to hear 
"performed" by young ladies that were 
learning to play the piano. Just which or 
what "Battle of Prague" it was, I can't say, 
but, judging by the noise of the piece, the 
slaughter must have been terrific. 

Monday, September 29. 
A beautiful day and this afternoon we 
go to Vienna. Bohemia is, comparatively, 
a flat country, well cultivated and quite ex- 
tensively planted with pine trees. Some of 
the groves have but recently been set out 
and look like well cultivated corn fields at 
home. In other places the young trees are 
large enough for bean-poles but in most of 
the plantations they are from six to ten 
inches in diameter. Just as soon as the tim- 
ber is large enough to make into boards, it 
is cut and after the branches have been care- 
fully trimmed off, for they are saved for 
fire wood, the trunks are hauled to the saw- 
mill. If it were not for the groves and the 



172 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

many crosses and shrines to saints, that are 
scattered about the country, it would look 
very much like our western prairies. We 
arrived in Vienna after dark and taking a 
"bus" were hauled across the city, over 
some rough pavement, to the Grand Hotel, 
where they assigned us quite comfortable 
rooms. 

Tuesday, September 30. 

Went to the Museum with the boys to 
look at the old armor. They have a mag- 
nifiicent collection there. After a while I 
left my sons and went to the Picture Gallery. 
The collection is especially good in paintings 
of the Italian School. There are a number 
of fine Titians with several Tintorettos and 
Veroneses and more beautiful Palma Vec- 
chios than I have ever before seen. Of Tus- 
can Old Masters, I noticed a St. Catherine 
by Parmigianino, and the famous "Madonna 
al Verde" by Raphael. The afternoon was 
spent in walking about the streets, up to the 
Stephans Platz, watching the people, and 
peeping into shops. At one place I found 
what looked to me like a suit of old Gothic 
armor. I shall take the boys up to have a 
look at It tomorrow. 




u* 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 173 

Wednesday, October i. 
Today I went up to the Museum to join 
Maud and Marian, who with Raphael had 
preceded me. First I slipped into the rooms 
on the lower floor to have another look at 
the armor, for I wanted to compare some 
of the suits with the one I found for sale 
yesterday. It closely resembles a Gothic suit 
that belonged to Sigmund of Tyrol (d. 
1496). After having taken a hasty look 
through some of the other rooms on this 
floor, I started to go up stairs to the Picture 
Galleries to find my family, for I knew Ra- 
phael desired to go elsewhere, when whom 
should I meet on the stairs but my brother 
Frank and his wife Luisa. They have been 
in Vienna for the past two days, are stop- 
ping at the "Bristol" just across the street 
from our hotel and in the meantime have 
been hunting for us. They were leaving the 
building but turned back and we went in 
search of Maud, Marian and Raphael, 
whom we soon found in one of the galleries. 
To say my crowd was surprised hardly ex- 
presses their feelings. After visiting a 
while, we decided to go over to the Hofburg 
to see the guard changed, Raphael in the 
meantime having gone to keep his appoint- 



174 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

ment with Charles, but promising that they 
both would meet us at the Palace. The 
change of the guard was quite interesting to 
watch, as the marching step of the Hun- 
garian soldiers, who relieved the Yager 
company on duty, was very peculiar. Noth- 
ing describes it better than a "cake-walk." 
After it was over we all went to our hotel 
for lunch. In the afternoon Charles and 
I went to buy the suit of Gothic armor that 
I discovered yesterday. The boys think it is 
mostly genuine, and certainly, to me, it looks 
like the one in the museum that belonged to 
Archduke Sigmund of Tyrol. The dealer 
says he bought it from the collection of 
Prince Windischgratz. In the same shop 
there was a nice half-suit painted black, 
such as the Bavarians wore in the Thirty 
Year War, but it had been sold just a few 
minutes before we arrived, so, much to our 
regret, we could not get it. This evening, 
Frank insisted that I go over to his hotel 
to see the bar-maid, "the handsomest woman 
in Vienna." I went but cannot say that I 
agree as to the verdict. The lady in ques- 
tion is tall, dark and quite of the Junoesque 
type. She told me she came from the Black 
Forest, so she is not a Viennese woman. 




Ui 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 175 

Thursday, October 2. 
Charles and I went to the Army Museum 
out at the Artillery Arsenal. The superb 
Vestibule is adorned with fifty-six marble 
statues of "Austrian Generals." However, 
among them I noticed Prince Eugene of Sa- 
voy, who certainly was not of Austrian birth. 
Ascending the imposing stairs, we enter the 
Ruhmeshalle ("Hall of Fame"), a fine 
domed hall containing memorial tablets to 
Austrian Heroes, while on the walls are 
frescoes of famous battles in which the Au- 
strian armies have engaged. In the rooms 
to the right are arms and equipments used 
in the Thirty Year War and down to 1783. 
In the rooms to the left are trophies and 
weapons from that date down to the pres- 
ent time. We were greatly interested in 
the various guns we saw. In the evening 
we went to the Opera House to see a couple 
of ballets and a short operetta. The latter 
was what we in America call, "Suzanne's 
Secret." The principal ballet was called the 
"Red Shoe." The dancing was wonderful 
and from where we sat, the women, some 
thirty or forty in number, were a fine looking 
lot. As for their dancing, any one of them 
would have passed for a "premiere" in 
America. 



176 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

Friday, October 3. 
Went with Frank and Luisa out to Schon- 
brunn, the Summer Palace of the Emperor. 
We entered by the fore court and passed 
through the park with its straight walks, 
clipped trees, grottoes and ponds, up to the 
"Gloriette,*' a colonnade, one hundred and 
four yards long and sixty-two feet high, 
built in 1775. From the platform on the 
roof we had a splendid view of the park and 
the city beyond. Returning we met our car- 
riage in front of the entrance to the Zoolog- 
ical Gardens. Frank and Luisa leave this 
evening for Budapest; we shall meet again 
in Paris. 

Saturday, October 4. 

Aboard the train for MunicE. Just be- 
fore reaching Linze we had a fine view of the 
Danube River. It is a noble stream, not 
quite so wide as the Missouri at Omaha. At 
Salsburg, a very picturesque looking city, we 
got a peep at some of the snow-clad peaks 
of the Tyrol. We arrived at Munich after 
dark and went to the "Hotel Vier Jahres- 
zeiten" (Hotel Four Seasons). 

Sunday, October 5. 
Maud, Charles and I went to Mass at the 
Theatines Kirche. The singing was quite 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 177 

good, probably the best we have heard this 
summer. After lunch the boys and I went 
to see the Army Museum, where there is a 
good collection of old armor and many relics 
of the Franco-Prussian War. Later I took 
a walk down town to the Grand Hotel Belle- 
vue, where we stopped the last time we were 
here. 

Monday, October 6. 

Wasted a lot of valuable time this morn- 
ing over arranging for our transportation to 
Paris. We wanted to stop at Strassburg and 
Rheims but it seemed to be impossible to 
arrange for the latter place, so I had to 
give it up. In the afternoon, I went up to 
the Alte Pinakothek and saw a number of my 
favorite pictures. Hunted up the portrait 
of Alice Ruthven by Van Dyck, which I used 
to admire greatly, but, sad to relate, she 
does not appeal to me now, as she did once 
upon a time. 

Tuesday, October 7. 

We men folks could not resist visiting the 
National Museum to see the old armor. 
There are some fine suits in the collection, 
including one or two of the Gothic period. 
Many of the exhibits are crowded too closely 
together. Then, where they have a number 



178 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

of duplicates, they should sell a few of the 
surplus to people like myself and with the 
proceeds buy specimens that they lack. 
There is in this town a man, Schmidt by 
name, who makes such good imitations of 
ancient armor that it is hard to tell them 
from the genuine. Of course there are some 
details he neglects that give him away, but 
I am not going to tell what they are for then 
he might make such good copies that even 
the wise **guys" might be fooled. 

Wednesday, October 8. 
We left Munich just after lunch and ar- 
rived at Strassburg a little before nine 
o'clock this evening. Secured rooms at the 
National Hotel. The country through 
which we passed was well cultivated. Of 
Augsburg we did not see much. At Ulm we 
got a glimpse of the Cathedral, which has a 
very tall spire. When Stuttgart was reached 
we only touched the outskirts of the town. 
Before arriving at Karlsrhue, we had to 
change cars, and, after passing that place, 
we were on and off several trains. As a con- 
sequence we were quite fatigued when we 
reached our destination and only wanted a 
bath and a bed, but instead we had pates 
de foie gras at a late supper and I went to 




In Munich 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 179 

bed minus the bath, for there was only one 
bath-room available and, it was "women and 
children first." 

Thursday, October 9. 

On our way to the Cathedral this morning, 
we passed through a square on one side of 
which was a large building with an arcade. 
I was astonished to see a company of Prus- 
sian soldiers seated on benches beneath the 
arcade and in front of them, resting in racks 
quite handily, were their rifles. It does not 
look as though, even after forty years of 
training, the government entirely trusted the 
citizens. The principal sight at the Cathe- 
dral is the wonderful clock. 

There was a celebrated clock in Strassburg 
Cathedral as early as the middle of the four- 
teenth century, but by the beginning oF the 
sixteenth century it had ceased to run. In 
the year 1547 the Magistrate of the Free 
Imperial City ruled, therefore, that a new 
astronomical clock should be constructed and 
placed opposite the old one in the Cathedral. 
(In the place where the clock now stands.) 

This clock served its purpose very well 
until 1789 when the works were destroyed. 
In 1836, for the third time, the Municipality 
of Strassburg decided that a new astronomi- 



180 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

cal clock should be placed In the old frame- 
work and intrusted Mr. Schwilgue, a watch- 
maker of the city, with the task. He com- 
pleted his undertaking in four years and it 
may be justly said to be unique in the world. 

The clock contains a perpetual calendar 
indicating all the variable holy-days and reg- 
ulates itself in leap years. There is in addi- 
tion an ecclesiastical computation, a plane- 
tarium representing the revolutions of the 
planets, the phases of the moon, the eclipses 
of the sun and moon, calculated to the re- 
motest time, a new celestial globe with indi- 
cations of the equinoxes, etc. 

The remaining parts of the mechanism are 
confined to a repetition — of course in more 
perfect form — of the old ones, the frame- 
work being the same. The first stroke of 
each quarter hour is struck by one of the 
little angels seated above the perpetual cal- 
endar, the second stroke of each quarter by 
one of the four ages, that proceed around 
the central figure Death. Childhood strikes 
the first quarter. Youth the second. Man- 
hood the third and Old Age the last. Death 
strikes the hours, while the second little 
angel turns the hour glass he holds in his 
hands. At the stroke of twelve, the twelve 
apostles pass before Christ bowing to him; 




Strassburg 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 181 

the Savior blesses them by raising his hand, 
while the cock crows and flaps his wings 
three times. The cock is the true historical 
feature of the work; it has been faithfully- 
retained since the fourteenth century during 
the various renovations, and has thus daily 
amused and astonished the generations of 
five centuries. During the afternoon I 
strolled about the town and found that there 
were many interesting old houses in the city, 
and some quite handsome, modern mansions. 

Friday, October lo. 
Took the train for Paris this morning. 
About noon we passed the boundary between 
Germany and France where we were care- 
fully inspected, first by German and then by 
French officials. The first town of import- 
ance we came to, after entering France, was 
Nancy which is quite a bustling place. About 
Epernay there are many vinyards that pro- 
duce the wine from which champagne is 
made and, on a hill near that place, I noticed 
a colossal statue of some saint. We arrived 
in Paris just before ^ve o'clock in the after- 
noon and as we drove to the Dysart Hotel 
it seemed as though the streets of Paris had 
never before looked so gay. There were so 
many trim looking young women in evidence. 



182 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

At the hotel we found my sister Stella and 
Mrs. S — awaiting our arrival. They are 
not stopping at our inn but at a splurgy 
place up near the Arc de Triomphe de 1' 
Etoile; however, they did stay to dinner, 
for we have good meals here. 

Saturday, October ii. 
Went over to the bank this morning, then 
to the steamship company's office to arrange 
for passage home. Charles is going to stay 
with Stella and they will go on around the 
world. Mrs. S 's passage was on an- 
other line, but I have arranged it so she can 
go with us on our ship. No need of her 
going alone, for the agent of our line is very 
accommodating. In the afternoon Gerard 
and Antonia called; both are looking well. 
In the evening we all went up to Stella's hotel 
to dine with her. There are lots of pretty 
women there but no men. 

Sunday, October 12. 

Went around to my little, old church to 
Mass and probably it will be a long time be- 
fore I go there again. In the afternoon, 
over to the Place de la Concorde to see the 
balloons start in the International Race. 
There were over forty, and among them 




Arc de Triomphe, Paris 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 183 

three from America. While we were watch- 
ing them, an aeroplane sailed over and 
seemed to be under perfect control. They 
are the machines that will dominate the air 
in the future. After the last big gas bag had 
disappeared southward, over the dome of 
the Pantheon, we went to call on Gerard 
and his wife who live quite near, but they 
were out, so we returned to our hotel. 

Monday, October 13. 
Frank and Luisa arrived today and in the 
evening we went over to the Hotel Crillon 
to see them. The Crillon is in one of those 
big, old buildings on the north side of the 
Place de la Concorde and is the very latest 
thing in the hotel line in Paris. It is a 
stately, old building erected 1 762-1 770, and 
was called "Hotel Crillon-Coislin", but I 
don't believe it was ever an inn before. Two 
years ago, when I was here, they had just 
started to renovate the old building, and at 
the time I wondered what they were going 
to do to it and was relieved when I found 
it was not to be pulled down. 

Tuesday, October 14. 
Today cousin Daisy and her husband 
called. She is Maud's cousin and I did not 



184 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

know she was abroad. They saw our names 
announced as among the arrivals in Paris 
and were good enough to hunt us up. He is 
Lieutenant Commander in the United States 
Navy and a fine looking man. I have met 
him before but it is the first time that Marian 
has seen him and she was quite smitten by 
**cousin Archie." They stayed to lunch and 
we had a very pleasant afternoon. 

Wednesday, October 15. 
Have been busy all day just running about. 
This evening I had all of our friends to din- 
ner and we had quite a gay time in the pri- 
vate dining room of the Dysart, which we 
had all to ourselves. 

Thursday, October 16. 

Up exploring the north part of Paris to- 
wards Montmartre. In the afternoon Maud, 
Marian and I took tea with Daisy and 
Archie at Rumpelmayer's. My I the place 
was crowded and there were lots of pretty 
women there. 

Friday, October 17. 
Down to the Latin Quarter, exploring 
and revisiting old places this morning. In 
the afternoon Maud and I went to call on 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 185 

Mrs. Biddle. In the evening Frank gave a 
feast at the Restaurant Prunier and we were 
all there, had a splendid time and a fine 
meal; oysters on half shell, grilled lobster, 
roast partridge, foie gras, salade and des- 
sert, with plenty of good wine. A grand 
preliminary for a sea voyage, 

Saturday, October i8. 

We, that are going home to America, were 
at the station early to catch the boat train, 
which leaves at lo A. M. Those who are 
to stay behind were also there to say good- 
bye. On arriving at Boulogne, we were in- 
formed that our steamer, the Nieuw Amster- 
dam, was late on account of fog, so we had 
plenty of time to inspect the town, and now 
after supper we are still at the hotel. 

Sunday, October 19. 

When we got aboard the steamship at 
twelve o'clock last night, we were a tired 
lot, but this morning it is bright and all of 
our party showed up by breakfast time. 
Spent most of the morning in the smoking 
room listening to Mr. Wickersham discourse 
upon various subjects. 

Monday, October 20. 
Our good ship is speeding down the Eng- 



186 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

lish Channel. Just before dark we passed 
the Lizard. The steamship Zealand is in 
sight ahead. The sea is rough and the sail- 
ors are preparing for a storm by stretching 
life lines along the deck. 

Tuesday, October 21. 
This is the first time I have ever been on 
a ship when they had to stretch life lines 
along the decks and put racks on the dining 
room tables. About nine o^clock this morn- 
ing we passed the steamship Zealand and it 
was a fine sight to see the spray dash over 
her funnels. We are protected by heavy 
glass windows on the promenade deck and 
over those they have fixed wooden shutters 
on the exposed side and ahead. At dinner 

this evening, Mrs. S , Frank and I were 

all that showed up at our table. Soup and 
coffee were impossible but we did have a bot- 
tle of wine that was put in its own special 
rack. Suddenly the ship made a wild plunge 
and the bottle went sailing over Mrs. 

S 's head, but she, doing an elegant 

short-stop stunt, caught It with one hand and 
gracefully returned it to the rack. We con- 
gratulated her on not spilling a drop. 

Wednesday, October 22. 
The sea is smoother this morning, but 




M 



A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 187 

there is still some roll. We have a Roman 
Count aboard whose old palace I remember 
having seen somewhere down below the 
Corso. When he found out that I was from 
the West, he asked if I had ever been to 
Fort Atkinson. Then without waiting for 
an answer, he told me he was going there. I 
had never heard of the place, and to hide my 
ignorance, asked him why he was going 
there. He told me that there was a Model 
Dairy Farm located at Fort Atkinson and, 
as he intended to convert his estates in Italy 
into a dairy, he was going there to study 
modern methods in the dairy business. 
Finally, by means of judicious questioning, 
I discovered that Fort Atkinson was in the 
State of Wisconsin, so you see I have learned 
something new regarding the geography of 
my own country today. 

Thursday, October 23. 
Pleasant day, sea smooth, and the air 
balmy. Almost everybody on deck. Saw 
a large steamship to the south, bound east. 
As a diversion we had life-boat drill this af- 
ternoon. 

Friday, October 24. 

Bright day, colder with wind from astern. 
We had a fine dinner this evening to cele- 



188 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN LANDS 

brate the twenty-fourth anniversary of our 
wedding. The head steward got it up with 
Raphael's assistance. There were specially 
printed menu cards, with wonderfully named 
dishes; Coupe Luise aux Liquers, Per- 
dreaux Roti au Nid, Salade Stella, Peches 
Flambees a la Marian, and Soufflee Maud 
en Surprise. 

Saturday, October 25. 

Fine day, quite smooth. About the only 
diversion is walking the deck. However, 
after dinner this evening they did have a 
little dance. 

Sunday, October 26. 

Beautiful day, although we had some fog 
last night. Passed a French steamer bound 
west. It was quite exciting as evidently the 
Frenchman did not intend to let us get by, 
but, notwithstanding the great cloud of black 
smoke that was pouring from his funnels, 
we slid past him. 

Monday, October 27. 
'Arrived in New York at one o'clock this 
afternoon and as soon as we were through 
the Custom House examination took a car- 
riage to the Seville Hotel. 



